The Cosmic Gate
by KorneliusPrisma
Summary: Joseph, a person who is maybe just like you, enters Termina by accident. But how did he get here and how can he find answers to his questions? He meets new friends in this unknown new world and live with them together in peace ... but this peace doesn't last for long. Accompany Joseph's, Link's, Romani's and Cremia's journey through Termina and follow them through the Cosmic Gate.
1. (Updated) Journey to an unknown world

_**Foreword (contains interesting information):  
><strong>__  
>Hello you. Yes you, the person who is reading this sentence right now. I welcome you in my first FanFiction and longer writing-project I've ever made.<br>I hope you will enjoy the journey through Termina and other worlds I've already planned for later._

_This story will be about Link, Romani, Cremia and a character that I've created by my own, whose name is Joseph. The story's main genre is Adventure and Romance but it also contains some Humor. The T-rating is because of some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.  
>The first two chapters will be only about Joseph and how he entered this new and unknown (and quite dangerous) world with the lovely name Termina. Romani and Cremia will be introduced in chapter 3 while Link will be introduced in chapter 6.<em>

I will also look forward for suggestions and critics. Please don't be shy to tell me your opinion by writing a review or by writing me a private message. This is my first big project I've ever written in English (my main language is German, because I am Austrian) and if you ever see a mistake, be a Grammar-Nazi and tell me the right word/grammar. The story is also helping me a lot in improving my bad vocabulary in English and to learn from my writing mistakes. Writing in a foreign language is very exciting to me, no doubts! ;)

_Every chapter has the same layout and I will update the story regularly. Each chapter has at least a minimum of 1.500 words (while the chapter-average is 2.200 words). I think it is better to update more regularly with less content instead of updating rarely but with a huge amount of content.  
>I will also update the older chapters at some time and draw artworks for every chapter. I will post the link to the artwork beneath the chapter title under the header-notes (I replaced the dots with spaces. Otherwise I can't post links here).<em>

But enough blablabla for now. Let's finally start the story and I wish you a lot of fun on this journey! :)

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><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 1: Journey to an unknown world -/-/  
><strong>_Artwork: __korneliusprisma deviantart com/art/The-Cosmic-Gate-Chapter-1-Artwork-519359293_

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><p><strong>Somewhere in a city in Europe - Afternoon:<strong>

Our journey began at a place, which nobody would have ever thought of. It began on a cloudy and rainy Friday afternoon … in a smaller city in our world. This city had one special citizen, who never thought about what might happen to him on this day, which started so innocent.  
>This special citizen had the lovely name Joseph. Joseph is a twenty years old man with short brown hair and brown eyes, who likes to listen to music, to play videogames and who was raised in the fast-living and technologically advanced world we all are raised in.<br>He rushed out of the doors of his college and was somehow happy to smell the scent of wet asphalt and the sour smell of fumes from the cars on this day. But why was he so happy about it? Oh … right! How could I ever forget? Because it was finally weekend! And the weekend tastes a lot better after tons of exams were written in this week. Joseph enjoyed this moment and forgot his exhaustion for this moment, because he is free now, free of duties, free from exams and free from homework … well … at least for a couple of days.

"_Whew! Finally weekend … I waited so long for you, dear Friday!"_ whispered Joseph to himself after he took a deep breath.  
><em>"Hmmm … I am free now … and don't have to do things until next week. What should I do now? Let's think for a moment … hmmm … ah yes! Maybe I should get a new game to play it on the weekend … yes that's a good idea!"<em> he thought and remembered the small game store, which was just a few streets down and not far away from his technical college. With a tired body … but a happy smile … he went down the streets, which were filled with cars and thought about which game he should buy for the weekend.  
>Our Joseph was never like most people in his age. He preferred to stay at home with his friends and to play videogames all night long with them instead of partying all night long and having the weirdest hangover the day after.<br>Joseph always loved to explore the worlds, which the game developers created just for people like him. Exploration and curiosity were his passions.

"_Ah, there it is. Finally something new to play. What about … how about a nice retro-game this time?"_ whispered in front of the small game-store to himself … and immediately entered the shop through the two glassy doors.  
>"Good afternoon, Patrick!" he greeted the cashier, whom he already knew. Joseph searched the shelves for about half an hour … but none of the games really interested him. He already had a lot of them at home.<p>

But soon our Joseph came to a bigger box of glass. The box was strange, because it was new in the shop. But what's so special about that box? Well … his eyes were not impressed because of the strange glass box … but on the game inside the box. It was a small cartridge, covered in a golden color and a dark-green sticker at the center of the cartridge. Written on the green sticker: "The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask". His eyes couldn't turn away from the cartridge.  
>He has heard about the "The Legend of Zelda"-series and knew from his friend that they are very impressive games with big worlds and a good story … but he has never played one by himself.<br>Majoras Mask was a quite old game from the year 2000 … old enough to get named a retro game.

First he couldn't turn away from the cartridge, but soon he turned to the cashier and asked him: _"How much does this game cost?"_  
>Somehow he had a strange feeling, but he couldn't explain it. But what's so special about this old game? Something in his guts said that he really should buy it.<br>_"Pardon? What did you say?"_ replied the cashier to his question … because he didn't hear what Joseph asked him.  
><em>"How much do you want for this game?"<em> he repeated.  
>The cashier answered: <em>"I will give it to you for free. Somehow people complained that it didn't worked and they gave it back to me. I don't want to keep it either, so feel free to take it, Joseph."<br>_ Joseph smiled and answered with a grateful "thank you" … and he immediately left the game-store because he was so excited about playing it.

With the golden game-cartridge in his hands he walked through the filled streets and waited on the bus station for his transportation to the place called home. But … somehow … something was strange on this cartridge. It felt somehow strange in his hands. It felt like a small, warm current flow through his hands … accompanied by a tingly feeling in his fingers. Was his hand gone to sleep now?  
>Joseph suddenly remembered a story that he'd read on the internet before. This story was called "Ben drowned". In this story a young boy purchased a cartridge of Majoras Mask on a peddlers market and strange things happened to the boy and some really weird and fucked up stuff happened in his game. But our Joseph knew it was just an invented horror story, something someone imagined somewhere at some time. It was nothing to be afraid of … because such haunting doesn't exist at all.<p>

"Ah finally, there it is!" thought Joseph while the bus drove towards the stop. He went inside and sat down to the next free seat he saw … and he took another deep breath before releasing some of his other stress. The fact that it was weekend still made Joseph happy. The new game he will be playing over the weekend increased his happiness even more. Joseph was looking forward to play the game this weekend and to refresh some nostalgic-feelings from the old N64-times. After the bus arrived on his bus stop after about twenty minutes, Joseph had to run to his house because it began to rain a lot while he traveled with the bus. His sky-blue hoodie and even his jeans got wet pretty fast in this rainy afternoon. He opened the door … and went inside his house.  
>Nobody was at home, he wasn't even that hungry, so he ignored the prepared food of his mother and ran straight up the stairs and to his room. He sat down on his couch and released some other stressful thoughts after two another deep breathes.<p>

"_Okay. I can't wait to play. Where is it?"_ asked Joseph himself silently and began to search for his old Nintendo 64. Joseph stood up and searched every drawer in his room … but unfortunately he found nothing but dust and scrap. After about thirty minutes of searching, he sat down, took the cartridge into his dusty hands and looked at it. This strange and unknown feeling he got when he first touched it became somehow stronger than before. _"Weird … what is this strange feeling that I get when I touch it? This doesn't even make sense!"_

Then he stared at the sticker on the cartridge. Somehow the strange feeling became stronger and stronger. His eyebrows showed his confusion in his face but he couldn't get his eyes of the cartridge. Then something strange happened … something that changed his life and probably the lives of others forever. A tingly, intense and strong energy began to flow through his arms. It felt like current, like he was in the electric circuit. But it didn't hurt him, neither it shocked or burned his hands. It felt warm and tingly but extremely weird and it was impossible to release the cartridge … because his hands clenched like he really would be in the electrical circuit at this moment. The flow of energy became stronger and stronger and stronger and he began to scream after his vision was slowly beginning to blur … now the energy was flowing through his whole body.  
><em>"Aaaaah. What is this witchcraft?!"<em> he screamed and the energy now slowly began to hurt, but the pain didn't last for long. After a couple of seconds he felt weaker and weaker. His eyes closed. The energy-flow stopped. The hurt ended. And last but not least: He lost his consciousness and collapsed.

Whatever this weird flow of energy was, it was nothing that Joseph or other people would expect. Hours and hours of darkness in his vision passed by as he slowly regained his consciousness. The strange tingly feeling in his hands that he had before went away … and fortunately so did the pain.  
><em>"Uuuh … ouch … wha … what the heck happened?"<em> he whispered to himself in his thinking-voice as he closed his hands. Wait … what's that? Joseph felt something strange in his hands again. But it was not a painful current but … uhm … is this … dirt … in his hands?  
>How was that possible? Wasn't this the ground or the carpet in his room? And what was this strange scent? So many questions went through his still weakened mind. Too many questions in his opinion. He slowly opened his eyes and couldn't believe his eyes anymore. Either he went crazy and his eyes were deceived … or he was seeing the truth.<p>

"_Trees? Grass? What the heck? What is this place? Where am I?"_ Joseph asked himself … and slowly tried to stand up. He was still weak but managed to stand up. His clothes were dirty and he felt pain in his legs … in his arms … in his head … and several other parts of his body_.  
>"A forest. A dark forest. Okay … right. Where the fuck am I? And how did I get here?"<em> asked Joseph himself. His confusion was overwhelming for good reasons.

But how did he get from a city to a dark forest?  
>How is this even possible?<br>And why is it so dark if it was afternoon?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 1 \-\-\**

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><p><em><strong>Notes from the Author:<strong>__ I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and as I said, I will look forward for critics, questions and suggestions. Don't be afraid to tell me your opinion. ;)_

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. (Updated) The Forest of Nope

_**Notes from the Author: **I wish you a lot of fun with this chapter too :) _  
><em>I will usually write announcements and other informations into this notes, but after I updated the chapters, the announcements aren't up to date anymore, so I will delete notes on the bottom of the chapter are usually additional information for the story, so I will keep them most times. <em>

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><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 2: The Forest of Nope -/-/  
><strong>_Artwork: korneliusprisma deviantart com/art/The-Cosmic-Gate-Chapter-2-Artwork-521653056_

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><p><strong>In a strange, dark and unknown forest – Unknown time of day:<strong>

Our Joseph walked through the dark and eerie forest, carefully, neither to fast because he could make alarming noises with his fast movements but nor to slow because maybe something had him already in its sights, somewhere, ready to strike for its easy meat.  
>After walking and thinking for about an hour, he asked himself<em>:<br>"Why is it so dark? Isn't it afternoon? But that's simply way too dark for an afternoon. But … well … how long was I knocked out? Maybe that's the reason ... but why was I knocked out at all? Argh so many questions!"_

Joseph felt something weird in his right pocket. Felt small and rectangular. Oh … right! Fortunately he still had his Smartphone. Joseph took it out of his pockets and checked it.  
><em>"Thanks god it's still working! This thing might save my ass right now …"<em> he whispered to himself and immediately tried to call the police …

"_Damnit! … no signal!" _shouted Joseph despairingly. How didn't he have signal in the forest? The forest he knows was not that far away from his city. He even remembered that a radio tower was standing next to the forest. So that didn't make sense at all!  
>The exams he had written in this week didn't give him that much confusion and headache compared to the situation he was confronted with in this moment<em>.<br>"At least it still has a lot of battery. The flashlight might be quite useful right now" _whispered Joseph and was happy about the 89 percent of battery.

But before Joseph activated the flashlight, he also checked the time to answer at least one of his many questions.  
><em>"3:18 PM … what the … how is that possible? It looks like it is midnight right now! Last time when I checked the watch at home it was 3:05 PM and bright outside. But … now … argh!"<em> thought Joseph and the answer to one of his questions contained a new question.  
>But as much as he was confused, dirty and feeling cold in this moment, his first wish was to survive. Dark forests usually are dangerous and scary … at least in most of his computer games.<br>_"Ok Slenderman, where are you? Show yourself!"_ he was joking to himself, hoping he could cheer himself up for a bit … or maybe this thought scared him even more.

The forest was indeed dark and scary. Darkness filled the horizon and scary trees together with a slight eerie fog represented this weird and unknown forest.  
>Even some creepy … but harmless sounds flew though the dark place of trees, leaves and dirt. Sounds like … owls and chirping crickets. And also howls from dangerous wolves … but fortunately the howls were far away … very far away to be exact.<br>One step … two steps … three steps … Joseph made his way through the forest with alarmed and scared eyes, lightened by a weak Smartphone-flashlight. The forest seemed endless and had its usual woody, wet scent in the air. He took a deep breath and …

"_What was that?"_ he thought with shocked eyes after something like a branch felt down to the ground in front of him … out of nowhere. Joseph gulped and his heart was beating so strong and fast he could feel it in his throat obviously. His hand, which held the Smartphone, moved slowly upwards and so did his sight. His whole body trembled like leaves in the wind and he felt tiny like an ant in this moment. First there was nothing in the treetops … but this didn't calm him. He turned around and took another gulp.  
>But … turning around was a big mistake …<br>His body was paralyzed, his eyes opened widely and his heart beating like never before. He saw **it** … a big … or to be more accurate: huge spider with 8 strong legs. The Spider's main body was shaped like a skull … and it was making very disturbing noises. Maybe this lovely fellow was hungry.  
>Our Joseph trembled like he never did before in his live, took another deep breath and said silently to the big Skulltula: <em>"He he … he … well … fuck …"<em>  
>He immediately turned around and began to run like he never had run in his live … together with the hope to survive.<p>

The big skull-spider made a loud and disturbing scream and immediately followed its tasty dinner … I mean Joseph. It rushed through the treetops with a hungry stomach and was after him. Joseph ran as fast as he could_.  
>"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope …"<em> he said while running and trying to escape his possible destiny. The treetops cracked like firewood in a oven because the dangerous beast was fast … very fast. Human flesh was really tasty (at least for the beast) and the skull-faced killer wanted to taste it again. Fortunately Joseph charged his Smartphone battery last night … so he could see at least a few meters what was in front of him … which was still little … but at least something. His stomach and chest already hurt from running and running and running and running … but he suppressed the pain for his own survival.

"_Whoa … that was too close …"_ said Joseph after seeing a big fissure in the ground and after he immediately stopped at the edge of it. Is this the end? Is his short life over now?  
><em>"No … this is not the end … you won't get me … not today my friend …"<em> he thought and took a couple of steps backwards. All of his energy was focused into his legs and he ran towards the edge … and made a big jump over the dangerous abyss.  
><em>"Ah … aargh … come on …"<em> said Joseph while he grabbed a tree root and hung on the edge of the fissure. He nearly fell down the deep abyss. But now it was not the time to give up. Joseph focused all of his power into his arms and pulled himself onto the other side. He took a deep breath … again … and immediately began to run again through the dark and dangerous forest, powered by his fear of the skull faced spider beast and lighted by his weak flashlight. Another ten minutes of running passed by … he had to stop now … he … he was too exhausted … to run again … whew … time for a little break … at least for a few seconds.

_"I … I … lost him … phew … that was … too … close … what … the heck was this monster?" _he said to himself with heavy breathing and sweat on his forehead, hands and Smartphone.  
><em>"Seriously, what was that for a thing? I've never seen something strange like that in my life before … never ever!"<em>  
>He turned around; just to be sure that his follower wasn't after him anymore. He saw something strange again … but this time it wasn't a big pile of nope. Instead he saw light through the forest. The light didn't came from his Smartphone because the Smartphone emitted a weak white light … and the light in the distance was yellow and … well … in the distance. He walked step by step towards the light and … yes! Finally!<p>

The forest finally ended here and he stood on a big and open field. At the center of the field was a wall made of stone and a big … and weird shaped tower rose from the center of the stone circle, illuminated by a yellow light.  
><em>"Finally … I … I made it … whew … at least no more trees and roots and big skull spiders and other bullshit<em>._ I hope I will find some civilization over here_" said Joseph to himself and was happy that he survived this situation. He turned the Smartphone-flashlight off to save battery and tried to call the police again.  
><em>"Beep ... Beep ... Beep ... The number you've called is not available right now. Please try it again later" <em>said the answer-machine in its monotone voice. Joseph shook his head as he realized he still had no signal. Now he was outside of the forest and on an open field … but still no signal. He looked around and the landscape was unknown to him. Was this really the Europe he knew?  
><em>"Weird … very weird …"<em> he thought and shook his head.  
>He put his heated up Smartphone back into his pocket after he turned it off. Maybe saving even more battery would be a very good idea. Joseph knew that Smartphones has not that much battery capacity.<br>_"I really, really, __**really**__ hope there are some people over there"_ he said to himself and began to walk over the big open field towards the town.

After about fifteen minutes, he stood in front of the southern entrance of the city. On top of the entrance were letters he couldn't read at all.  
><em>"What the heck is this kind of language? Is this Chinese? Or Japanese? This language looks like eastern languages but … they are somehow still different. Where am I?"<em> he said in front of the entrance. Maybe someone in it can explain everything to him, so he entered the city … or town … or village?

He walked through the city and was still exhausted from his escape … but fortunately he saw a lot of people, so this place was at least not abandoned. But these people looked strange in Joseph's eyes. They had worn strange clothes. Was this something like a medieval party? No wait! It must be some kind of a fantasy party … because everyone had strange long and pointy ears. Joseph saw some construction workers … building a tower or something like that in the center of the open place … which was maybe some kind of market place.

"_E … excuse me, s … sir"_ asked Joseph one of the Workers. He turned around and looked into Joseph's tired eyes.  
>"Yes? Sup young man?" he answered.<br>_"I have a few questions. First of all: Where am I? What is this … city … or town called? … I am new here and …"_ Joseph asked carefully.  
>The construction worker began to laugh and answered: <em>"Ha ha ha you are a funny person! This is Clock Town of course, the capital of Termina! Ha ha ha … did you fall from the sky or something like that?"<em>

Joseph smiled in his probably fakest smile ever and thanked him. Termina? Clock-Town? What the heck? What was that man talking about? Joseph also asked where he could find something like a hotel in this city and the worker responded in a very fast and unclear voice_:  
>"Go there and there and there … blabla … East Clock Town … blabla … Stock Pot Inn … over there and then you are there haha har".<em>

The worker pointed to the stairs that leads to eastern Clock-Town, where also the Stock Pot Inn was. Joseph looked at the stairs in a confused way. _"Ehm … yes … thank you … I guess …"_ he said to the worker and slowly walked towards these stairs with the hope he will find a soft bed and a warm meal.

But will our Joseph find a warm meal and a soft bed there?  
>What is this so called Termina? Or Clock-Town?<br>And where was Joseph's internet-connection when he needed it the most?

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><p><strong>-/-/**** End of Chapter 2 ****\-\-\**

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><p><em><strong>Notes from the Author:<strong>__ Sorry if my English is not that correct at some points. It's not my main-language and I hope my several proofreading will correct every mistake I made. ;)_

_Next chapter will be about Cremia and Romani, so it won't continue with Joseph. Just to avoid confusion: Next chapter is __**before**__ Joseph arrives in Termina. The regular story, which ended in chapter 2 will be continued in chapter 4. I made chapter 3 to finally introduce other characters as well ;)_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	3. Last hours on the ranch?

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Hello you. Yes you, the person who is reading this sentence right now. Fell greeted and I hope you will enjoy chapter 3 as well because now the other characters finally come into it. :P_

_To avoid unnecessary confusion I should tell you at which time the story in its whole is told before you start reading the chapter. Joseph arrived in the forest between Woodfall and Ikana Canyon at the beginning of the night of the fourth day (using the 3 day-cycle of Majoras Mask). The apocalypse has been prevented by Link and people are celebrating carnival on the fourth day. Joseph arrived in the forest while Cremia prepared her wagon for transportation._

_To (finally) integrate the other characters as well and to avoid unnecessary confusion when Joseph's story will be continued, I decided to start this chapter with the ranch girls in the night of the third day, just a few hours before a possible lunar-holocaust. Yes, yes okay. I will stop talking. You're right let's finally continue the story._

**- Chapter 3: Last hours on the ranch…? -**

Romani Ranch – Night of the third day (7:00 PM):

"_Oh good evening!"_ Cremia said to the young boy in green, who just came through the barn-door. Romani noticed the young boy in green after Cremia's greeting and greeted him happily with a cute _"Welcome Grasshopper"._ _"We're milking the cows tonight! It's 'Chateau Romani'. It's the first time I get to drink it!"_ she said with a beaming face to the boy she called Grasshopper. _"Until now, my sister always said 'wait until you're an adult_.' But why now?" she asked while turning to her older sister.

Cremia gulped and took a deep breath first before answering. She was not that happy about that decision but she wanted to make her sister happy before every life in Termina gets consumed by a devastating firestorm, caused by the moon. In her eyes Romani was still a child, a carefree child, living behind a lot of fairytales. Cremia said to her little sister after releasing the air from her deep breath_:"You've become an adult now. Romani … I see it in you. I am acknowledging it."_

She was holding her tears back. Cremia was extremely sad at this moment. But she couldn't decide if it was the fact that she, her sister and all people she ever had loved will die this night, or the fact that she lied to her little sister to let her live in her fairytales instead of facing the cold hard truth to her, was hurting her soul.  
>Her hands trembled but somehow she managed to hold her tears back while talking to her sister and somehow she managed to calm her hands while milking the cow.<p>

"_Then does Romani get a mask too?"_ she asked her sister_. "Well y … yes. I will make one for you"_ she answered nervously. _"Sleep with me in my bed tonight. Ok, Romani?"_ Cremia asked her little sister in the hope they'll die together in a warm hug and a beautiful last moment on Earth.

Cremia stood up and put her hands on her sisters' shoulder. _"Let's go to sleep soon Romani. Anju and her family are waiting for us". "Yes sister, maybe her grandmother will read a good-night story to me"_ she responded to her with widely opened eyes.

At the front-door Romani turned back and waved. _"Goodbye Grasshopper. See you … tomorrow okay?" _she said to her newest friend who helped her fighting ghost-like aliens and rescued Cremia from the marauding Gorman-Brothers. Then the ranch-sisters entered their house, leaving Grasshopper outside … and maybe their future too.

"_Grandmother, Grandmother!"_ Romani shouted upstairs and ran upstairs with her usual happy face and dirty boots covering her feet. Cremia usually would grumble about Romani over making the floor dirty … but not tonight. As soon as Romani entered the bedroom, Cremia dropped her veil of fake happiness leaving nothing but a sad Cremia in the room. Anju and her Mother sat on the table in the dining room. Cremia joined her company at table. She took a deep breath, looked into Anjus eyes and one tear came out of her beautiful blue eyes.

"_I lied to her Anju … I … I have never lied to my sister since she was born. Just … why is this happening to us? It is so cruel. I've never done something cruel to anyone. My sister, she is so young and innocent. Why Anju, just why?"_ Cremia asked with a silent voice, releasing her tortured soul and her tears to her best friend.  
><em>"I don't know it either. Let's pray to the goddesses we will not die tonight. We all will die at some day but I hope not tonight. Just … just stay strong tonight, okay Cremia?"<em> Anju answered to her painful cry for help.

After 5 minutes of crying, the bedroom door opened and Romani came down the stairs. Cremia immediately wiped the tears off her eyes and looked at Romani. _"Can I drink Chateau Romani now, Sis?"_ she asked Cremia with curious eyes. _"Yes Romani. Yes you can. I will bring you a bottle."_

While searching for a bottle of Chateau Romani, Cremia suddenly had an idea. _"Hmmm. I don't feel good for doing this to her … but … I have no other option"_ she thought and didn't take one bottle but the whole box of bottles. A box with 12 bottles of Chateau Romani stood on the table, giving Romani big eyes. Anju and her Mother left the dining room, going upstairs to the bedroom, leaving Romani and Cremia alone again.  
><em>"You can drink them all if you want, as I said, you're an adult now, Romani".<em> Romani immediately took one bottle and opened it. As soon as the bottle opened she took a big gulp, drinking half of the bottle at once.

"_Wow it … it tastes wonderful"_ Romani said with closed eyes and a big smile to her sister. Cremia laughed back to her, but Cremia still had this bad feeling in her, mixed with sadness. Drugging her own sister like that was not really her best idea, but she had the hope maybe her sister won't feel a lot of pain while dying this night. Romani drank another five bottles. _"Tastes very wonderful … *hicks* … oh ha ha ha"_. Somehow it was cute to see her sister with a hiccup but Cremia knew she was drunk.

"_Let's go to sleep now, Romani". "Yesss sssisster …"_ Romani said in a drunken voice. Cremia lifted her into her arms and walked upstairs, with her drunk sister in her arms … knowing they will die in a couple of hours. Every person in the bedroom was already sleeping. So Cremia sat on her bed with Romani in her arms. _"Good night Romani …"_ she said in a silent voice to her before kissing her forehead. Cremia laid down as well, holding her sister in her arms while crying as silent as possible. She closed her eyes and … felt asleep.

Hours passed and nothing interesting happened while sleeping. But soon Cremia slowly opened her eyes because of a bright light she felt on her eyes. What is this sound? Birds? Is this heaven? Or Hell? Is she dead or alive? Too many questions on an early morning.

"_Wha … what? What happened? Am I dead?"_ Cremia asked in a confused voice. She turned out of bed and she heard something. Sounded like a _"Hrmpf."_ She rubbed her eyes and looked down on the floor_. "Oh right, Romani slept with me in my bed tonight"_ she thought and began to laugh while seeing her sister like that. But what happened this night? Ignoring her sister, Cremia immediately rushed out of the house, still in her dress from yesterday. She looked to Clock Town and saw it in the sky. She saw … nothing … probably the most satisfying nothing she had ever seen.

"_We survived! We … we survived … I am so glad!"_ Cremia shouted out loud. _"Yes Cremia, we did it"_ said a well known voice to her. _"Anju! I am so glad we are alive!"_ she said to her best friend while hugging her. But the two young women didn't hug for long, because Anju said to Cremia she must leave soon. She had to work on this day and night and tomorrow was her wedding. Cremia nodded and ran back to her house, waking her little sister up.

"_Hrmpf… good morning sis! Argh why do I have such a headache? What happened yesterday?"_ The young Ranch-girl said to the older one. Cremia only smiled at her young sister and gave her a lovely hug_. "I am glad you are awake"_ she said to her. _"Well … if you say so, sis!"_  
>As soon as she welcomed her young sister, Cremia changed to her old daily routine and began to work.<p>

Making breakfast, gathering the Cucco eggs, milking the cows and last but not least, **ready her wagon for a milk delivery into Clock Town this night …**

**- End of Chapter 3 -**

_**Notes from the Author:**__  
>Next chapter will be about Joseph and how he will meet Cremia on the night of the fourth day.<br>I hope you enjoyed it as well. Comment, criticize me, tell me mistakes in the story, etc. I look forward to improve my writing skills … and you are a big part of it. _

_Thanks for reading!_


	4. Redhead in danger!

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Hello my dear readers, finally I finished and uploaded chapter 4 today. Yesterday was no upload because I came home really late and I had to learn for a presentation in English-lesson. I hope that's okay. Please comment, criticize and tell me your opinion as always and have fun! ;)_

**- Chapter 4: Redhead in danger -**

_**Romani Ranch – At the dusk of the fourth day:**_

Cremia was standing in front of her wagon and prepared everything for the ride into Clock Town. Her hair was glowing more bright and orange-red than before because the sunset was shining through her long and beautiful hair which was waving in a refreshing breeze of wind. Also the young women had a lovely smile in her face while putting one milk container after another into the wagon because she still appreciated the fact that she and everyone was alive. It was a bit unusual to see a happy Cremia at this moment because the last weeks were pretty stressful for her. Even though she was tired and stressed, she was still the lovely and caring person we all know.

"_Whew! That was the last container. So far so good …"_ she said in a satisfied voice. _"Anything I forgot? … hmmm … no, I don't think so"_. After asking herself, she heard a curious voice asking her: _"What about Romani, sis?"_  
>Cremia turned and was looking into the eyes of her cute little sister.<p>

"_No not today, Romani! What about … next time … okay?"  
>" Please go to sleep, Romani. Aren't you tired from showing me your awesome archery-skills?"<em> Cremia asked her disappointed sister.  
><em>"But Romani wants to ride with you! Romani has never seen Clock Town before!".<em>  
><em>"Next time … okay? I will promise it to you!" <em>said Cremia with closed eyes to her sister while smiling at her. Romani nodded with a happy smile and ran to the Ranch-House.

After the promise to her Sister, Cremia climbed up the wagon, took a deep breath and enjoyed the sunset for a few minutes. But she saw not only a beautiful view of warm orange sunlight but also a small and strange light-blue-glowing vortex in the sky. This weird vortex must have been somewhere between Woodfall and Ikana Canyon. The vortex only lasted for about 10 seconds, then a lightning came out of it and disappeared as soon as the lightning hit the ground.  
><em>"What in the name of Nayru was that?"<em> Cremia asked herself with widely opened eyes and a confused face. "I hope nothing bad. Whatever, I should ride now before it's getting to dark" and Cremia immediately rode towards Clock Town.

_**Clock Town – A few hours later:**_

Joseph stood in front of the Stock Pot Inn after asking the worker for a place to sleep and was still very confused how he got here and what this so called "Termina" is.  
><em>"Well, either someone is playing the biggest prank ever to me or I just went full retarded. Never go full retarded, Joseph"<em> said Joseph to himself and opened the door to Stock Pot Inn. As soon as he stood in the Lobby of the Inn, he recognized a woody scent in the air, some creepy looking masks on the wall … and a young and beautiful lady with short red hair, long ears and a long blue skirt named Anju.

"_Hello sir, can I help you?"_ asked Anju to her possible new customer.  
><em>"Yes … yes maybe you can. Is this some kind of hotel? I really need to take a rest."<em> Joseph responded to her.  
><em>"Uhm … yes this is the Stock Pot Inn, people usually come here to sleep while there is the Carnival in Clock Town"<em> Anju answered the young man. "Let me see … ah yes, luckily I have a room for you."  
><em>"Thanks heaven. How much do you want for it?"<em> Joseph asked her happily and looked Anju in her face with curious eyes.  
><em>"10 per night"<em> she said to him and Joseph put his wallet out of his pockets. Joseph forgot to take it out of his pockets at home before he landed in the strange land of Termina. Fortunately he had a red banknote in his wallet, which was worth 10 Euros (= 11,36 US-Dollars), and he gave it to Anju.

But Joseph looked at her in a very confused way after she asked him _"What's this kind of paper?"  
>"This is a ten euro banknote. You said ten, so I give you ten"<em> he responded slightly angry to her.  
><em>"But … sir, here in Clock Town we pay in Rupees"<em> Anju said to her confused customer.  
><em>"What the fuck are Rupees? Ah come on, I just want a place to sleep"<em> he said in an even more angry voice.  
><em>"If you can't pay, I can't give you the room. Please come again if you have at least ten Rupees"<em> Anju said with shocked eyes.

After that Joseph ran out of the Stock Pot Inn and a loud _"Damn!"_ came out of his mouth. _"What the fuck is this place? Where am I? Too … many … questions!"_ she shouted frustrated and was heading to the east gate of the town. _"Maybe I can find a place somewhere over here. Who needs a bed anyways?"_ he joked to himself, trying to cheer himself up again. After he left Clock Town through the east gate he looked around and saw at first nothing but the columns that leads to Ikana Canyon. Then Joseph looked to the left. He saw something … or someone? After a few seconds of looking he couldn't believe his eyes anymore.

Long orange-red hair, a white blouse with a long purple skirt and a yellow scarf, about 1,72 meters tall and probably the most beautiful face he'd ever seen before, standing in front of a wagon.  
><em>"Wow, she … she is … beautiful"<em> he thought with a dreamy expression in his face. _"Who is she? She's wearing the same medieval clothes as everyone else here. She also has these long ears. Did I somehow travel in time?"_ Joseph asked himself after admiring the mysterious young women from the distance. This question caused a chain-reaction in his mind and created a whole bunch of other questions_. "Where am I anyways? I've never heard of a country called Termina. How did I get here? …" _and soon he tried to answer his questions.

"_I woke up in the middle of a scary forest straight in the land of nowhere. What have I done before that? Well … uhm … maybe … no that was yesterday … maybe I did this … no … argh I can't remember!"_ Joseph thought with a slight headache. _"Or maybe I am just dreaming. I really hope so".  
><em>His eyes turned back to the beautiful and mysterious redhead.  
><em>"Maybe I should ask her where I am. But … uhm … well … I am not really good at talking to girls … hehehe. Especially not to beautiful girls"<em> Joseph thought while looking at her and sighed with slight red cheeks.

Then something strange happened. 2 masked men, covered in a brown coat came to the redhead and talked to her. Or did they even talk? Their voices had a slight anger in it. Did they … did they threaten her? Was this young woman in danger? Did her face just turn from a happy smile to … a fearful glimpse?  
>Then suddenly one of these man put a long … knife? … out of his coat. And the other one put out an … an axe? Whatever these things were, they looked like sharp problems for the young lady.<p>

Joseph watched them from afar with a curious but also nervous glimpse. _"Oh no … if she is in danger, than I really really __**really**__ should react now"_ said Joseph as silent as possible to himself. He immediately put his Smartphone out of his pocket and turned it on. _"Come on … come on … start it … start it now you little piece of scrap!"_ he thought nervously. After a few seconds he saw the home-screen on his Smartphone and looked at the already crying Redhead at this moment. One of the mysterious and dangerous marauders put his hand in the air … with his big knife. _"Oh no … please no! Not you again!"_ the red haired women screamed to them. But this was a really bad idea … because the aggressor got angry and swung his sword … hitting the redhead right into her right leg … followed by a painful scream. The other mysterious marauder then attacked her wagon, trying to destroy it for … whatever reason.

Joseph immediately tried to call the police again but the same happened as before … no fucking signal!  
><em>"The connection here is medieval too!"<em> said Joseph to himself and looked on his phone screen. Joseph gulped and ... hmmm … suddenly he had an idea. But was it a good idea? Screw this, he had no other choice.  
><em>"Oh god … let's hope this will work …"<em> he said with a very nervous voice to his Smartphone and walked towards the marauders.

"_Back off!"_ he screamed towards the marauding men. _"Don't you dare hurt her again!"_  
>The men turned around and saw a young man with short brown hair and strange blue clothes walking to them.<br>_"And who are you then?"_ one of the masked men asked Joseph with an angry voice.  
><em>"I am … Joseph … icus!"<em> he said with a nervous and stuttering voice.  
><em>"Who are you?"<em> the man asked again but a bit confused this time.  
><em>"I am Josephicus … a mighty … and well known … magician"<em> he said to the men.  
><em>"Of course you are. Now go away, or should we kill you too?"<em> the man said to him in a dangerous and threatening voice.  
><em>"I … uhm … I could spell a mighty curse on you so. Don't make me angry … just don't!"<em> Joseph threatened back to them. Suddenly both men began to laugh. Who was this so called magician? If he's really that mighty and well known, why didn't they know him?

"_The … device … I have in my right hand right now can curse you. It can … uhm … it can take your soul for example"_ Joseph said to the men and held his Smartphone in front of him.  
><em>"I will now steal your soul and sell them to … uhm … the … uhm … the dark lord Sauron from Mordor"<em> he told the mysterious men. Then he opened the camera of the Smartphone and pointed it right at their faces. Joseph activated the flash of the Smartphone-camera and ensured that the Mobile Phone was not muted.

A bright light showed their faces followed by a click-sound. The man looked at him in a confused and scared way at once. Joseph turned his Smartphone-screen with the photo of the man to her faces. The men were shocked because they saw their own faces in this thing.  
><em>"Brother let's go. This magician is creepy as hell. Don't let him sell our souls"<em> said one man to the other one.

"_The soul-sucker will make weird noises if you don't leave now. Your souls will scream the longer they will be in this device" _said Joseph with a warning voice to the dangerous men. While inventing the possible danger his harmless Smartphone could do to them, he looked at the face of the mysterious young women, who lied with a painful cut in her legs on the ground, and … blinked.  
><em>"What? Could it be that the man in blue clothes isn't crazy? I really hope he is trying to save me right now" <em>thought the red-haired beauty. 

Meanwhile Joseph looked at his phone screen, while opening the MP3-Player and searching a song that sounds as weird as possible to them. Rock? Pop? Hip-Hop? Nah, too normal.  
>What about … Dubstep? Maybe with a lot of screaming in it? Yes, that's a good idea thought the mighty Josephicus. He searched the craziest Dubstep Song on his Smartphone and played it immediately.<p>

"_Argh … what is that weird sound? Stop it! Aaargh!" _said one of the mysterious men … or should I say … one of the Gorman Brothers?  
><em>"Run little brother! Run! He is crazy! He will sell our souls! Run!"<em> said the older Gorman brother to the younger one.

As soon as both brothers ran away from Joseph and the hurt Lady, he kneed down to her and saw a big red stain on her purple skirt. _"Oh no ... that doesn't look very healthy"_ Joseph said to her. She looked into his brown eyes with a painful glimpse and whispered: "… thank you!"  
><em>"I really really <em>_**really**__ hope this town has at least something like a hospital … or at least a doctor"_ Joseph said to the hurt lady.  
><em>"But there is no time to search one. Come on. What should I do now? Argh!"<em>  
>Joseph thought fast and got an idea. At the moment it would be the best to stop her bleeding and ask for a first aid kit in town. He doffed his skyblue pullover and took a look at her hurt leg.<p>

"_I hope this will stop the bleeding for a while until I can find help"_ Joseph said to her while he tied his pullover around her hurt leg.  
><em>"Thank you Josephicus …"<em> the young lady said to him. _"… thank you very much"._  
><em>"Oh just call me Joseph. I am not really a magician. I … uhm … just invented that to help you with these bastards" <em>he responded while looking into her eyes_. "What is your name by the way, young lady?"_

"_I am Cremia, the manager of Romanis Ranch"_ the mysterious, red-haired and hurt beauty said to him, finally letting him know her name.  
><em>"Ni … Nice to meet you, Cremia. Uhm, please stay here, I … I will be right back, hopefully with some help."<em> Joseph said to Cremia and immediately ran to the east gate of Clock Town …

**- End of Chapter 4 -**

_**Notes from the Author:**__ This time the chapter got a bit longer and I tried to make the dialogues more clearly in this one. To imagine how Joseph looks like: He wears a skyblue hoodie and a pair of jeans with some white sneakers. So he really looks like a 20-years old young male from the year 2015.  
>Just to mention it: All characters in this story (excluded Joseph) belongs to Nintendo. Thanks for reading!<em>


	5. First Aid

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Chapter 5, here we go! Please comment, criticize and tell me your opinion as always and have fun! _

**- Chapter 5: First Aid -**

"_I really really __**really**__ hope this weird Inn has at least something like a first aid kit …"_ Joseph thought while running through the eastern gate of Clock Town. He gave his last power in searching help for Cremia because Joseph was already exhausted. Exhausted from waking up in a scary forest, living for two whole hours in fear and from running away from a creepy beast. As if this wasn't enough, he also had to scare two creepy men, who were coming out of nowhere and had nothing better to do to attack an innocent and beautiful woman in the darkness. Or was she even innocent?

Who was she anyways? She said her name is Cremia and that she is the manager of a ranch. But that's all Joseph knew about her. Maybe he should ask her more. Maybe she could even help him with his confusion and answer his questions how he got into this nightmare. But now it's not the time to ask her. First things first: She must be rescued. And as soon as Joseph made this conclusion, he was already in front of the Stock Pot Inn … again.

Meanwhile Anju was still standing behind her desk, waiting for customers and thinking about the wedding she and Kafei will have tomorrow. Kafei was such a handsome and young man. Thinking about him made her really happy. She thought about how Kafei will … ***boom***

"_Hey! You! … First … Aid … *gasp* … Kit … now!"_ said a gasping and sweating young man in a white T-Shirt to the young women, who was horrified at first and looked at him with widely opened eyes.  
><em>"Please … I really need one!"<em> he mentioned again in the hope she will help him.  
><em>"Wha … what happened … mister?"<em> responded Anju to Joseph, whom she had thrown out of the Inn earlier. Joseph took some very deep breaths to catch his breath again.  
><em>"A young woman … with long red hair, a white blouse and a long purple skirt … got attacked by two weird men. I scared them away from her … but she got cut in her right leg. I used my sweatshirt to stop her bleeding but it won't help much. I need a first aid kit … now! Please young lady, I … I just want to help …"<em> answered Joseph with a frantic and frustrated voice to the Inn lady. Who was he talking about? Could it … could it be …?

Anju's eyes opened widely, she screamed _"Cremia!"_ and Joseph answered with _"yes … that's her name!"  
><em>Anju immediately searched under her desk and put a white bag out of it. She turned, ran through the corridor and was standing in front of Joseph after a few seconds.  
><em>"Where is she?"<em> she asked him. Joseph smiled and said a satisfied _"thank you"_ to her.  
><em>"Follow me!"<em> and both ran to the east gate of Clock Town.

After they left the east gate, Joseph pointed at Cremia with his finger, followed by a _"there!"  
><em>Both ran to her and she was still lying on the ground, but with her eyes closed and trembling by either cold or pain. Was she dying? Well, she will die like every human being …

… but not today. Joseph kneed down in front of her and shook her body for a couple of seconds. _"Cremia, I am back … with help!"_ Joseph said to her while she was slowly opening her eyes. Cremia looked at him with a slightly blurred view and recognized another person to his left_. "I am here too"_ said this person to her and she recognized her voice.  
><em>"A … Anju …"<em> Cremia whispered. Anju immediately opened her bag and took a look at Cremia's hurt leg. She removed Joseph's blood-soaked sweatshirt and gave it to him.

"_Wait … I will light her leg … so you can see the wound well"_ said Joseph and put out his Smartphone. Then he activated his mobile phone flashlight and Anju looked at him with shocked eyes.  
><em>"What's this strange … thing you have in your hands?"<em> she asked him while wondering how well she could see Cremia's leg.  
><em>"I will explain everything later. But first help her!"<em> Joseph answered with a nervous voice.

Anju cleaned her wound first, because Joseph's sweatshirt was a bit dirty from running through the forest. Then she opened a small bottle and poured a bit of it into Cremia's wound. Cremia screamed a bit because this liquid burned as hell in her wound. After the disinfection, Anju put out a bandage and wrapped the wound with it. Finally! Cremia was rescued.

"_I don't believe she can walk now"_ mentioned Joseph while looking at Anju. _"And I don't think she wants to sleep on the cold and dirty ground".  
>"She can sleep in the Inn. I still have one room left. But … uhm … I am not really strong … so I can't carry her"<em> said Anju and Joseph soon turned to Cremia. He kneed down, put his hands to her back and her thighs and stood up … holding Cremia in his hands.  
><em>"I'll do that"<em> he said to the Inn women and began to walk towards the east gate with Anju to his left.

After carrying Cremia to the Stock Pot Inn, Anju showed him the stairs to the room. Joseph was already gasping. Cremia was not that heavy … but neither was she light.  
><em>"Lay her into this bed over here"<em> Anju told him and he nodded back.

"_Whew! Finally! Finally she is save now. Thank you … uhm … well … I don't even know your name"_ said Joseph to the red-haired Inn girl and she introduced herself with the name Anju.  
><em>"Thank you Anju … I am Joseph by the way."<em>  
><em>"Sorry for being rude and frantic before, I didn't want to do that"<em> Joseph said to her with a really sorry glimpse_. "It's okay. I am glad you came to help my best friend Cremia"_ she responded with a thankful voice.  
><em>"So you know each other?" <em>asked Joseph.  
><em>"Yes. I know her since a long time. She was always bringing milk to the Inn and the Milk-Bar and my fiancé know her well too"<em> answered Anju.

"_Hmmm … okay"_ said Joseph. _"Hmmm … your fiancé? You have a wedding soon?"_ Joseph asked Anju. _"Yes … tomorrow … I am so happy!"_ responded Anju with a bright, smiling face.  
><em>"Tomorrow?! And I rushed in and burdened you with trouble? Shame on me!"<em> Joseph responded to Anju.  
><em>"Nah it is okay. I am glad you helped Cremia. Otherwise I would still stand behind my desk and do nothing but waiting"<em> she was answering and laughed a bit.

"_Anju, thank you again. I … uhm … I will watch over Cremia. Maybe she'll need help again this night"_ he said to her and she nodded back_. "She trusted you and you helped her, so I will trust you too"_ Anju said to the already tired and still confused man, who could hardly hold his eyes open.

After that, Anju left the Room and was hoping the mysterious man won't do something forbidden with her. But he didn't seem to be an evil man, so she trusted him like Cremia did.  
>Meanwhile Joseph was standing in front of her bed, being exhausted, still confused and said <em>"Good night Cremia. I hope you'll regenerate well" <em>to her. He sat down on the carpet and whispered _"maybe I can rest for a few seconds now"_ to himself.

But Cremia wasn't really sleeping. She just lay in the bed, feeling some pain in her leg while being half-conscious and recognizing everything Joseph and Anju said to each other. She slowly opened her mouth and whispered a silent _"thank you"_ to him once again.  
>At this moment Joseph was lying on the cold and hard floor and wasn't resting for some seconds but sleeping for several hours.<p>

Finally after the rescue, Cremia and Joseph could finally recover from the excitement they had this day and night … until the dawn of a new day …

**- End of Chapter 5 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__In the next Chapter I will finally introduce Link to the Story, so all four main-characters will have a place in the story after that. Thanks for reading!_


	6. Searching for answers

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Yesterday I uploaded no chapter because I went to a party. I hope that's okay. This time Link will be integrated (well, at least in a short story at the end of the chapter). Comment, criticize and have fun here too! :)_

**- Chapter 6: Searching for Answers … -**

_**Stock Pot Inn – In the early morning:**_

The night was calm and both, Cremia and Joseph, recovered very well in this night, which was quite unusual for them in the last days. Cremia had to work hard and feared the moon will crash and destroy everything she loved. Joseph on the other side had to write a lot of exams before he came to Termina, which was quite nerve-jangling as well because Joseph wasn't really the best student in his college. But finally both could rest for a bit until the dawn of a new day.

Joseph was lying on the ground and felt something strange while he slowly woke up. It felt like something (or someone?) was shaking him gently. He took a deep breath while opening his eyes. First there was nothing but the ceiling but when his head turned right, he saw a startled but smiling young lady sitting on the bed, who was looking into his eyes.  
><em>"Good morning, Joseph"<em> said the lady to him. He immediately moved into a sitting position and looked into her eyes too after that.

"_Uhm … hi"_ said Joseph to her and didn't realize that this was the person he and Anju saved last night. After his shy greeting, Cremia began to laugh loud. Joseph answered her laughing with a smile and some more confusion. But Joseph's memory slowly came back after he saw the big red stain on her long skirt.  
><em>"Oh … right. You're the one we helped last night. So all of this was no dream"<em> he said to her and sighed. _"You're name is Cremia, right?"_ he asked and she nodded back. _"How are you?"_  
><em>"Good. I mean I still feel some pain here but I think I will be able to walk and work" <em>answered Cremia while pointing at her wound.

"_I am very glad you scared them away from me. Thank you again. Good to know heroes still come to Clock Town"_ said Cremia and asked him: "Where are you from? I've never seen someone like you in Termina".  
><em>"Well, I am from Europe"<em> answered Joseph.  
><em>"Europe? I've never heard of this land".<em> Cremia looked at him with some confusion but Joseph looked at her even more confused. She spoke his language and even looked like someone from the Western World he knew … well … except for the long ears and strange clothes everyone in this Town wore. 

"_I've never heard of Clock Town or even Termina either"_ he responded to her confused answer.  
><em>"I don't even know how I got here…"<em>  
>After that, Cremia asked him: <em>"What's the last thing you can remember?" <em>

Joseph began to tell her his story: _"Hmmm let's see … the last thing I can remember is that I woke up in a dark and very creepy forest, where I got attacked by a creepy, big, spider-like thing. But I escaped and soon got to Clock Town and searched for a place to sleep. Everyone was wearing these long ears and medieval clothes which is still confusing me. I went to the … uhm … I think it's named "Stock Pot Inn" and got thrown out. Then I saw you. You got attacked and I tried to call the police, then I had to scare them away by myself, you were hurt and I had to get some help. And now I woke up in here. I hoped it was a dream but … everything is too real to be a dream"._

Cremia looked at him with a surprised glimpse. After that, Anju entered the room and greeted both:  
><em>"Good morning Cremia and Joseph"<em>. Anju sat down next to Cremia and also asked how they feel and who this mysterious Joseph was. Joseph told her the same story and she looked at him with the same surprised glimpse.  
>Joseph looked in Cremia's blue eyes and had a question about her attackers. He remembered that he made a photo of them. So he put out his Smartphone, opened the gallery and searched for the two mysterious bandits. After he saw the photo he showed it to the girls, who looked at the screen … but carefully<em>. "Who are these two guys?"<em> asked Joseph right after showing the photo to them.

Cremia and Anju looked into Josephs eyes with a slightly scared glimpse. What was this strange thing in his hands? Then Joseph said with some laughter: _"Don't be scared. This thing is harmless. Everything I said last night about it was invented to scare them away. Just take it"._

Cremia took his Smartphone and looked at the illuminated and scared visage of her raiders.  
><em>"The Gorman-brothers"<em> said Cremia to him and Anju.  
><em>"Why did they attack you? I mean you seem like a nice person. Why would anyone want you dead?"<em> asked Joseph.  
><em>"Well … as I said I own a ranch. We produce eggs and milk and sell them to the people in Clock Town. The Gormans produce milk too, but their milk-quality is awful. They want to kill the farm-business, because when my sister and I can't produce milk, they are the only producers of milk"<em> answered Cremia.  
><em>"Sometimes they steal our cows or destroy our bottles, but they've never gone so far that they attack me".<em>

"_I saw, that they even destroyed your wagon and scared the horse away"_ said Joseph.  
><em>"When I see them again … then … uhm … then something painful will happen to them"<em> he added and Cremia began to smile.  
><em>"That's cute from you, Joseph"<em> she responded with a slightly laughing.

Anju stood up and asked Joseph and Cremia if they want something to eat. This question was valid because both didn't eat since yesterday morning and their bellies were already growling. Aw yes, a warm and tasty steak with some herb butter and a few potatoes … that would be nice. And as a drink a cool and fruity beer … mmmh tasty. And for dessert some …

"_No thank you Anju … we … uhm … I must go soon to be ready for the wedding of you and Kafei and I need a strong person to help me repairing the wagon. You … uhm … you should also start preparing for the wedding Anju. But thanks for the offer" _said Cremia with a smile and destroyed Josephs dream of a tasty dinner.  
>Cremia then took Josephs hand and dragged him outside of the room, leaving Anju behind them.<br>_"Bye Anju … uhm … see you later on the wedding!"_ said Cremia to Anju and as soon as both left the room and walked to the stairs she whispered to Joseph: _"You can thank me later"._ But Joseph looked at her in a confused way while being dragged by her lovely hand_. "The fuck?! Uhm … okay … I guess"_ he answered.

Soon both were outside of the Stock Pot Inn and Joseph asked Cremia_: "Uhm wait … I have a question: What the hell was that?"  
><em>She turned and began to laugh. After a couple of seconds of laughing because of Joseph's hilarious question, the crazy redhead answered_:"Sorry for laughing, but you don't know Anju's cooking skills, do you?"  
><em> 

Of course Joseph didn't know her cooking skills, how should he even know?  
><em>"Her cooking is really bad, Joseph. So don't eat at Stock Pot Inn unless you want to twist your stomach"<em> she said and blinked._ "You can come to me and eat at the ranch if you want. But first I need to come home"._ Both walked to the east gate of Clock Town … well … Cremia walked with a limp because her leg still hurt a bit.

Soon they saw the destroyed wagon and Joseph took a look at it while Cremia returned to Clock Town and asked the carpenters for some tools and nails. One of the wheels got separated from the axis and some of the timber was damaged and separated. But the wagon wasn't that much damaged as expected. Soon Cremia returned with some material and Joseph immediately began to fix it.

"_I am glad he is helping me. My little sister must be missing me. He's a really cute and nice man."_ thought Cremia while helping Joseph repairing her wagon.  
>After half an hour the wagon was repaired. Cremia even found her horse while searching for some tools. Someone had found it and then he returned it to her. So the wagon was prepared for a ride to her home again. She was so happy that Joseph helped her … twice in a row. That's not a matter of course in Termina.<p>

"_Thank you so much Joseph. You saved my life yesterday and now you are even helping me to come home. How can I even return the favor?"_ she asked the young man thankfully.  
><em>"No problem Cremia. Where I come from we …" <em>tried the young man to answer but he suddenly got a warm and fuzzy feeling inside because Cremia was suddenly hugging him.

"_Uhm … wow … this … feels great"_ said the young man satisfied because he usually doesn't get many hugs.  
><em>"No problem Joseph. Where I come from we hug sometimes"<em> she responded and laughed.

"_Can we meet again? I … I mean under better circumstances"_ Joseph asked Cremia.  
><em>"Sure, just come to the ranch anytime you want. But now I must hurry. My sister needs some food and I need a clean dress"<em> she responded with a smile and climbed on the wagon. 

"_Oh and do you know something like a library in this Town? Maybe I can find some answers there"_ he asked.  
><em>"I believe the Stock Pot Inn has something like a library on the ground floor. Just ask Anju or her grandmother"<em> Cremia answered.

"_Thank you"._ Cremia drove home while Joseph walked back to the Stock Pot Inn … to find answers.

_**Meanwhile beneath Clock-Town – About 10:00 AM:**_

Under the tower of Clock-Town, a young boy with green clothes and a green hat searched for something. But what was he searching for? Ah right. The boy named "Link" searched a path back to Hyrule. Somehow he came through a … twisted … corridor into this strange clock tower. And after that, a huge and heavy stone gate closed. But somehow … the gate is missing. Instead of the mysterious corridor he only saw bricks … a big massive wall, made out of stone-bricks.

"_Damnit! How do I come back to Hyrule?"_ asked the young boy in green to himself. He asked himself because there was nobody else. Tatl and Tael left him after they reunited. Nobody was there to answer his questions. Nobody was there to help him … again … first Navi and now Tatl. Is there no way to get home? To Saria, to Malon, to Zelda, to his Kokiri brothers and sisters, to his … home. This can't be his destiny … being locked in Clock Town. Maybe if he …

… yes that might be the answer. Maybe if he'll find some kind of map. Not the one he bought from Tingle but a much bigger one. One with Hyrule and Termina on it. Maybe that's the answer to get home. But does Clock Town even have a library? Link closed his eyes and thought about it for a few seconds.

Ah yes, there were a lot of books in the room with Anju's Grandmother. Maybe she or her books know something about the connection between Hyrule and Termina. So Link took a deep breath and walked upstairs … out of the Clock Tower … towards the Stock Pot Inn … to find answers.

**- End of Chapter 6 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__In the next chapter, Link will have a longer part, I promise! ;)__**  
><strong>__Thanks for reading!_


	7. Finding the answers

_**Notes from the Author:**__ What comes after six? That's right, seven! This chapter will have about 2.000 words instead of the usual 1.500 words. I hope that's okay. Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 7: … And Finding the Answers -**

**Clock Town – In the early afternoon**

Joseph and Link were both heading to the Stock Pot Inn in their hope they will find some answers to their questions. Termina is a really strange land for both of them even though it's a beautiful land. But it has something strange on it. It's like a magnet for people who are from other worlds. For our hero of time, Link, who was coming from Hyrule and was searching for an old friend, it was as much strange as for Joseph, who came from the technologically advanced and accelerated world we unaware humans all live in.  
>However, Link and Joseph were both missing their homes. Link was missing his best friend Saria; he was missing princess Zelda and he missed his friends and surrogate-family in the Kokiri-Village.<br>Joseph was missing his friends, his family, his gaming-consoles and his home, a sometimes noisy and stinking but peaceful city.  
>How did they even come into this mess? Maybe there was someone or something that could help them.<p>

"_Well, I guess I am here … again"_ thought Joseph in front of the Stock Pot Inn and sighed. Hopefully they can help him. After a deep breath he entered the Inn and didn't saw Anju but a middle-aged woman, wearing a green pullover, standing behind the desk.  
><em>"Hello young man. Can I help you somehow?"<em> she asked Joseph who was still wearing a white T-Shirt because he forgot his sky-blue pullover at the Stock Pot Inn last night.  
><em>"Yes ma'am. I have two questions: I've heard you have something like a library here at Stock Pot Inn. If that's the case, can I use it?"<em> he asked her.

"_Uhm … people usually don't ask for the library but … yes, you can use it if you want"_ she said with a confused voice. People rarely ask for the library, because the scientist at the observatory usually does know much more than every book could. But he doesn't seem to know him so … why not?

Joseph thanked her and wanted to walk to the library but got stopped by her because she asked him:  
><em>"And what would be question two, mister?"<em>  
><em>"Ah right. Okay … uhm … I've slept here last night and I've forgot my blue pullover in here. Do you have it? The pullover was pretty dirty though"<em> he answered.  
><em>"Yes I … have it. I even washed it. It was very dirty and covered in … blood." <em>

She looked beneath the desk, put something out and showed a sky-blue and very clean pullover to him. _"Yep, that's mine"_ said Joseph to her, who was looking at him with a distrusting glimpse.  
><em>"Did you murder someone or why was it soaked in blood?"<em> she asked him jokingly and Joseph began to tell her what happened last night because the blood was from Cremia's leg and not because he "murdered someone".

After he told her everything and after he calmed her down because she was shocked when he told her the story, he thanked her again and went to the library and entered the room. The room had a woody scent in the air, mixed with the scent of old books.

Meanwhile, Link entered the Stock Pot Inn as well and asked Anju's Mother too if he could use the library. It seems like everyone wants to use the library on the day of Anju's wedding which was kind of weird for her. _"Sure Link"_ she responded because she knew Link well after he helped Anju and Kafei a lot.

Soon Link entered the library and saw Anju's sleeping grandmother and a man, who was wearing blue clothes and searched for something. Both greeted each other and searched for something useful in the shelves. Link took 3 books out of the shelves because they seemed pretty interesting to him, maybe they could help him finding the answers.

But meanwhile Joseph was confused as hell. He couldn't read the books because they used a weird kind of language in it. Looked somehow like Asian languages but neither was it Chinese nor Korean nor Japanese. An Asian language he'd never seen before. Even though he'd found a library, he wasn't able to read what was written in the books. And what's with the boy in green? It was strange, but somehow he looked familiar but Joseph couldn't remember where he'd seen him before.

Hours and hours passed by while searching for something usefully. But neither Link, nor Joseph found something useful. Link was sitting and read some books while Joseph was sitting on a chair and thought about how he got here, because now he had some quiet time to think about it. But the silence soon got broken …

"_Argh that … that can't be! I'll be trapped in here forever!"_ shouted the young boy in green to one of his book, which released some of his frustration. Joseph became frightened because of Link's scream. Was this young boy in green trapped too? Wasn't Joseph the only one who was trapped in this hellhole? Could this really be the case?

"_You too, young boy?"_ asked Joseph Link.  
><em>"Are you trapped too?"<em> asked Link Joseph and both said _"yes"_ at the same time.  
>Both were surprised they'll find someone who is trapped as well.<p>

"_Well, yes. I woke up in the middle of nowhere and got chased by a giant spider beast, then I …"_ began Joseph to tell Link and mentioned he can't remember anything before he woke up.  
>After Joseph's story with the forest, the rescue of Cremia and his night at the Stock Pot Inn, Link began to tell Joseph his story as well.<br>_"Well, after I rescued Hyrule from the lord of evil, I rode into the lost woods and …"_ began Link and told Joseph his story as well.  
>For Joseph it sounded like an invented fantasy story for a game, made by some weird Japanese guys but somehow the boy said it in a quite serious voice while telling him his story.<p>

"_One moment please … could it … could it be that … your name is Link?"_ asked Joseph and the young boy nodded back with a curious glimpse. _"And … uhm … do you know a person named Zelda?"_ asked Joseph and the young boy in green nodded again but his eyes looked at him with an even more curious glimpse.  
><em>"D-do you know her?"<em> asked Link.  
><em>"I don't know her as a real person but … but as a videogame-character. I know you as a videogame-character too, Link" <em>answered Joseph and confused Link with this statement.

That's why Link seemed so familiar to him. But … but that … no … that couldn't be … or could it? Was Joseph somehow … stranded … in the world of Zelda? After a few seconds of thinking Joseph's mind blew. He suddenly remembered what he did before coming to this world.  
>He was buying a cartridge of "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" for Nintendo 64 and … and … that cartridge felt … weird … somehow. Oh right, he … he felt some weird energy flowing through his hands while holding it and after that he landed here.<p>

Joseph sat down with widely opened eyes and an open mouth. So he became part of this world? But that game was released on the Nintendo 64 about 15 years ago, so it shouldn't look so real, but … everything looked so real … felt so real … smelled so real. Was he in the Reality … or was it just fantasy? Even the characters he met so far had so much intelligence and such real behavior; no programmer on earth could ever make such an excellent artificial intelligence.

"_Is everything okay, Joseph? What's a videogame?"_ asked Link and looked at him with a worried glimpse. Even though he answered some of his questions, every answer contained a new question.  
><em>"I want to try something out"<em> said Joseph, stood up and walked to the chimney, which was still burning. Joseph took a deep breath and reached out his hand … right into the hot fire. After a few seconds he pulled his hand away from the fire, followed by a painful _"ouch!"_  
>Yes it was real. The pain was real, his hunger was real, the scent was real, every person he'd met and everything else was real. This was mind-blowing. Then he turned to Link and answered his questions.<p>

"_Well … I am okay … I guess … but I am really confused right now … as always since I came here. But even though I see now that everything seems to be real, I ask myself: How? How can everything be so real if this world shouldn't exist at all?"_ he answered.

Shouldn't exist? What did Joseph mean with that, asked Link to himself?

"_Link, a videogame is a … uhm … well a game in a world that humans invented and created by using a … uhm … strange kind of technology. Even though these worlds are invented, the world you and I are seeing right now is one of these invented worlds. And you are one of these invented characters in these invented worlds. This sounds kind of strange and confusing, isn't it?" _

"_Yes, this sounds very weird. I don't know what you mean with "shouldn't exist at all" but even if we are trapped in here: How did we get here and what we should do to come back home?"_ asked Link.  
><em>"That's a very good question, Link".<em> Both took a frustrated, deep breath and thought about what they said to each other. Then a loud noise growled through the room. Sounded like … growling stomachs. Soon Joseph stood up, shook his head slightly and tried to cheer the friendly young boy and himself up:

"_Link, even if we don't know how we exactly landed in here and how we come home, even if we won't find the answer soon, I think we should face the reality at the moment. We are trapped in Termina. And we miss our homes. But that doesn't mean that we will die soon. I've already met some friendly persons here and you too I guess. Maybe they can help us … and … maybe we can help each other."_

"_Today Anju will have her wedding with … uhm … with … uhm … with the man she loves. Maybe we could cheer ourselves a bit up if we join her little party. What do you think about it? I don't think we should soak in sorrow and questions at the moment. Maybe we will find someone who knows the answers but I guess finding something to eat and getting a safe place to sleep is more important now"_ said Joseph to Link and Link responded with a smile. His new friend seems to be a reasonable person, even if he is as much confused as Link right now.  
><em>"You're right. Let's get some food!"<em>

And they both stood up. With still confused minds but at least with a smile. After they went outside to Clock Town again by opening the front door of Stock Pot Inn, Joseph saw a lot of people partying and asked himself_: "What the fuck?"_  
>A <strong>whole Town<strong> was making a big party for just two persons who loved each other and married. The weddings on the earth he knew weren't that big. Dancers, music, fireworks, a lot of decorations and so on. Link had heard of such big weddings in Hyrule Castle, but he'd never seen one. The mood was a happy mood. Everybody was partying. Everybody was happy.

… well … except for one person …

**- End of Chapter 7 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__I am not a footnote, I am just cleaning here! :)__**  
><strong>__In the next part, Romani will be more integrated into the story, so be prepared for a cute little archer with red hair! _

_Thanks for reading and commentating!_


	8. Anjus Wedding and the Party

_**Notes from the Author:**__ I think this is my longest chapter so far (2.591 words)! One thing to mention this time: In this FanFiction, I declared the age of each main-character like this: Joseph is 20 years old; Cremia is 19 years old; Link is 12 and Romani is 11 but Romani soon has her birthday. Anju and Kafei were both 24 years old.__Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!_  
><em>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 8: Anju's Wedding and the Party -**

**Milk Road – In the late afternoon:**

Meanwhile in the late afternoon, a wagon with two persons was rolling towards Clock Town but this time without milk supplies, because the last milk carriage was the day before. This time Cremia was driving to the wedding-party of her best friend Anju. But what was unusual this time was the fact that she was not alone. Her cute little sister, Romani, was sitting right beside the older ranch-girl … or should I say -woman?

Romani was excited to see Clock Town and a wedding for the first time … and at the same time. Her excitement was overwhelming, which was quite annoying for Cremia because Romani asked thousands and thousands of questions. _"How are the people in Clock Town? How big is Clock Town? What exactly is a wedding? Why do people marry at all? …" _And so on.

Cremia had three emotions at once at this moment. First of all, she was annoyed because of the thousand questions her little sister was asking, second she was happy to see her sister happy, I mean more happy than usual. Romani's happiness was quite contagious.  
>And the third emotion was … somehow a strange feeling which was feeling quite painful. But it wasn't her leg which was hurting. It was something in her heart. It felt like a broken heart and the feeling of disappointment. But she shrouded that feeling so well that her sister didn't notice how she actually felt inside.<p>

After half an hour and after what felt like an eternity, the two beautiful ranch-sisters reached Clock-Town and parked her wagon in the north-eastern side of Clock Town's outer wall. The younger redhead was overwhelmed by the beauty of the unknown areas of Termina. But soon, both entered Clock Town through the eastern gate and already saw a lot of people partying, dancing to music, and so on. Romani's eyes were widely opened because of her surprised expression in her face. She'd never seen so many people at once.

_"Come on, Romani! I will show you a nice place to play!"_ said Cremia and guided her little sister to the stairs that are leading to the north of Clock Town. In the north was a big playground for children. Maybe Romani can find some new friends here in Town._ "Romani, this is the northern part of Clock Town. You can play here with other children and meet new friends! I'll be right back, okay? I have to … uhm … to do something. See you later, okay?"_ said Cremia and hugged her little sister. After that, the young extroverted girl walked to the Bomber kids, who were playing here as well.

**Meanwhile in West-Clock-Town – About 20 minutes before sunset: **

Link and Joseph were walking through West-Clock-Town and already joined the party. They both danced through the streets because of the quite catchy music they could hear through whole Clock Town. Even though, both were still confused and had a lot of questions in their minds, they decided to have fun tonight. West-Clock-Town had a lot of different shops, so maybe one of them had at least something delicious to eat. Joseph had the problem that he didn't have any rupees and only a few Euros that were useless at the moment. Link on the other side had plenty of them. About 5.000 of them he'd stored in his bank-account and a few hundred were in his pocket.

Link has found a new friend in Joseph, even though they only know each other for about five hours. Link is also a generous person and lend Joseph 50 rupees, which was quite a lot. Link trusted Joseph because he is an honest and friendly person and Joseph trusted Link because he could say the same about him.

_"Joseph look, there is a small market over there! Maybe we can buy food over there!"_ shouted Link to Joseph because they couldn't hear very well in the crowd. After the crowd had dispersed, they could both buy something nice to eat. Yummy, they bought a tasty fish with some potatoes. And both drank a bottle of fresh milk, which came from Romani's Ranch.

_"Man that food is tasty and this milk is awesome!"_ said Joseph to Link because the food he knew, from the world he came from, wasn't that tasty there. Even the milk tasted different. It tasted like regular milk but had a different but tasty aroma in it. After Link and Joseph filled their stomachs, they both walked towards North-Clock-Town, because Link wanted to play on the playground … and Joseph followed him.

When they reached the playground, they saw a lot of children playing there. Only the Bomber kids looked familiar. The other ones were …

_"Grasshopper!"_ shouted a young girl with red hair and a bow in her hands and interrupted the Author of this FanFiction in finishing his sentence. The voice sounded familiar to Link and he shouted _"Romani!"_ back to her. Finally they met again. Link was glad he could see Romani and everyone else alive. The last time he saw her was on the evening where she could drink Chateau Romani for the first time.

Romani ran to the young boy in green and hugged him out of running, which caused Link to fall down with Romani on top of him. _"Romani is glad you're back!"_ said the young woman. Both rolled on the grassy playground while both laughed like happy children. After they finished their lovely greeting, Link introduced Joseph to her:  
><em>"Do you know my new friend, Romani?"<em> he asked and she shook her head.

_"I am Joseph, nice to meet you young woman"_ he said with a smile to her.  
><em>"Joseph? That's a nice name but … hmmm … well alright then. How about … Blueberry?"<em> she said which caused Joseph to laugh.  
><em>"That's the name Romani gives you. See, you're wearing a blue pullover and you have a round face, so Blueberry it is!"<em> said Romani which caused Joseph to laugh even more. Now she had a Grasshopper and a Blueberry as a friend. She's really cute with her nicknames and art of speaking.

_"Well then, Romani. Nice to meet you"_ answered Joseph. Somehow the young woman looked familiar to him. Her blue eyes, her red hair, even her dress looked familiar.  
><em>"Romani may I ask you something? Do you know a person with the name Cremia?"<em> he asked her.  
><em>"Of course Romani knows! She's my sister!"<em> responded Romani. _"Does Blueberry know her?"_  
><em>"Yes I do, I've met her yesterday. Where is she?"<em> asked Joseph and Romani answered him, that she went to her wagon, which was still parking in the north-east of Clock-Town. _"Thank you, Romani! I will search her for you."_

So Joseph went through the massive crowd of people in East-Clock-Town and walked through the eastern gate of Clock Town. Joseph had the same situation like he had the day before. At first he saw nothing but the columns that lead to Ikana Canyon. But when he looked to his left, he saw the wagon he repaired this morning. But this time without the beautiful and adolescent redhead.

Joseph walked to the wagon and checked it out. Yes it was the same one he repaired, with the logo of Romani's Ranch on it but this time without milk-bottles … and without Cremia. But where is she? Joseph looked around and saw nothing but a beautiful sunset. In a few hours Anju will have her wedding. Romani said that it was only a few minutes ago that her sister left her at the playground. So where is she?

Then Joseph looked closer to the columns that lead to Ikana Canyon. He saw something in the shadows of the columns. It had the shape of a person … sitting on the ground. Was that Cremia? He looked closer and noticed brown hairs. But these hairs were only brown because of the darkness … usually these hairs are red. So yes, that was Cremia. But what was she doing there?

Joseph walked closer to her with curious eyes and after a few meters he suddenly stopped walking. What the fuck? Was … was she crying and weeping? Did these Gormans attack her again? What was wrong with the lovely and laughing person he woke up with this morning?  
>Should he walk to her and comfort her? Of course, that's the only reasonable option … but … somehow Joseph had a feeling that he shouldn't.<p>

His mind said: _"Walk to her and comfort her"_ but his gut instinct said something else. Maybe for just this one moment, the young engineering student should listen to his inner voice instead of just using his brain._ "Alright then"_ thought Joseph and walked back to the wagon and hided himself behind the wagon while observing Cremia. Then suddenly … after about ten minutes …

… Cremia stood up, wiped her tears away and cleaned her dress because the ground was quite dirty.  
>She took a deep breath and walked to her wagon. Joseph moved back because he didn't want to scare her. But after Cremia was standing right in front of her wagon, Joseph turned and moved back to the wagon. This was quite clever because Cremia didn't noticed Joseph so far and now it looked like he just came from the northern entrance of Clock Town.<p>

_"Good evening, Cremia!"_ he greeted with a cheerful voice. And Cremia's expression turned from slightly sad to a mix of surprise and happiness.  
><em>"Oh my … good evening Joseph! Nice to see you again"<em> answered the beautiful redhead. Joseph could see it in her blue eyes that she was crying … but only if he looked closely. It was like Cremia was a master of disguise.

_"How are you?"_ asked Joseph and she answered only with _"fine"._  
>Of course she was not fine. She lied to him to disguise how she really felt. But why was she sad? More questions came to Joseph's mind, but now it was not the right time to ask these questions.<br>_"What were you doing out here so alone?"_ asked Joseph. Damnit Joseph! Why did you ask her that? Now was not the right time to ask this silly question. But he was lucky that this didn't upset her.

_"Nothing interesting at all. I just spiffed myself up. I want to look pretty for the wedding and the party"_ she responded.  
><em>"You already look pretty, Cremia! No need to spiff up. You look fantastic!"<em> said Joseph to her. Damnit again, Joseph! Now it wasn't really the time to flirt. Her cheeks became red because of his honest and nice compliment. Cremia usually didn't get many compliments.  
><em>"Awww thank you Joseph. That's so sweet of you"<em> she responded to his compliment.

_"Come on, Cremia let's go party!"_ said the young man and both walked through the eastern gate of Clock Town to join the party. Well … okay maybe the compliment cheered Cremia up. Maybe that was the right thing to say.

So both went to Clock Town, to Link and Romani, who were playing as if there were no tomorrow and … finally to the Wedding party.

The wedding was quite beautiful and ceremonial. The whole population of Clock Town was witness of the wedding. Anju took Kafei as her husband and Kafei took Anju as his wife. They swore to each other that they will love each other, in good times and in bad times until the death will separate them. Cremia was still sad in her heart. But seeing the happy faces of Anju, Link, Joseph and Romani was her force-field against the storm of sorrow.

The night was long and everybody, even Cremia, was having a lot of fun. Joseph used his technology and took some selfies with Cremia, Romani, Link and the other kids with his magic brick named Smartphone. Making funny faces and seeing them on the phone was very funny for everyone, even Cremia couldn't resist laughing like she never did before when she saw their hilarious faces. Joseph even used the MP3-Player on his phone to show them some music from the modern world he came from. Some of the kids distracted the musicians and Joseph put his phone under the amplifier (yes, the Zoras actually have amplifiers). This time no crazy dubstep but some really catchy electro house music. Joseph was a big fan of every kind of electronic music. He searched for a soundtrack and found a song with the name "Wizard" from a well known Dutch DJ.

At first the people in Clock Town were confused. How could the Zora make such strange sound-effects with their instruments? But soon they started dancing slowly and after the beat dropped everybody got crazy. Mixed with the fireworks and good mood, this party was complete. Joseph's MP3-Playlist played until his phone battery was empty, which wasn't really his best idea.

Whatever everyone did on this evening, it was having fun, but even this awesome party found an end at some time.  
>Time flew away and it was about 2:00 AM in Clock Town. Some people were still partying but Cremia, Joseph, Romani and Link got tired. Tired from playing, from laughing, from excitement during the day and so on. So they decided to go home and all four went to Cremia's carriage.<p>

_"We will drive home now, Joseph and Link. This evening was one of the most awesome in my life!"_ said Cremia.  
><em>"Sis? Where will Grasshopper and Blueberry sleep?"<em> asked Romani. Romani was right; they wanted to go home … but … only two of them had a home. What about Link and Joseph who were trapped in Termina?

_"Sis, can Grasshopper and Blueberry sleep with us on the ranch? Please …"_ asked the young ranch-girl her older sister. Well, this offer was very kind of her.

Cremia thought about it. They were both nice and honest young men. But this means that Cremia had to cook even more food the day after. And where will they sleep? But on the other side it's quite calm on the ranch, so maybe they could keep company with them.

After some questions and talking about it to them, Cremia made a decision …

**- End of Chapter 8 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__I also changed the genre of the story from "adventure & humor" to "adventure & romance" because I think this is matching the story better. But as the description of the FanFiction is already mentioning, the genre is adventure, romance AND humor. I can only choose two of them. The adventure part comes from Joseph exploring an unknown and new world and some other things I've planned in but can't say right now because of major spoilers ;)._

_Thanks for reading and commentating!_


	9. A new home?

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Sorry for not uploading yesterday. The reason for that is that I came home very late and tired. I began the chapter but after about 400 words I was so inattentive that I had to stop writing. But I finished my drawing of a cover image for the story today (well, at least the pencil drawing) and I have holidays in a few days, so I can upload chapters more frequently. ;)  
>Thanks for the patience my lovely followers!<em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 9: A new home? -**

**In the north-east of Termina-Field – About 2:10 AM:**

After Cremia, Romani and their two potential guests discussed about sleeping at the ranch, Cremia made the decision that they can sleep there if they want. But everybody had to wake up at six o'clock in the morning like the ranch sisters always did. Both, Link and Joseph, were okay with that request and climbed up the wagon too. Cremia's decision made Link and Joseph very happy because they had a place to sleep this night in a warm and comfort house instead on the cold and hard ground outside in the wildness.  
>But her decision also made Romani happy because she had someone to play with the day after.<p>

Before they started, Cremia made sure that nobody forgot something. But nobody did, so Cremia began to drive to the milk road. She was a really caring and reasonable person which was quite unusual for someone who is only 19 years old. Well … at least in the world of Joseph. Every girl in his age was quite annoying and changed their partners more often than their panties. These girls didn't care much about their future or what person they will be in the future. Of course not everyone was like this in Joseph's world, but most people he knew were just like this.

Joseph, Link, Romani and Cremia became very good friends, even though they only knew each other for just a few days. They took care of each other and had fun together … like true friends did.

Cremia and Joseph sat in the front of the milk-transporter while Link and Romani sat next to each other in the backside, leaning against the side-wall. The night was calm and everyone was tired from the wedding. Link even was so tired, that he fell asleep … with his head resting on Romani's shoulder. Romani's cheeks blushed because he looked so cute while sleeping. She liked it when Grasshopper was near her. Romani also closed her eyes and leaned her head against Link's head and fell asleep as well. In this night, even the usually highly-energized girl was tired.

Cremia and Joseph were tired too, but they had to watch out for the street. Even if they were tired, the fatigue couldn't keep them from enjoying the ride at a clear sky and with fresh forest air.  
><em>"Well, actually I am glad you came with us. In the last few days I was lonely all the time, so your company feels very good"<em> said Cremia to Joseph, who answered:  
><em>"I have to say thank you, Cremia. I came to this strange new world and I've found some good friends in you. If I hadn't met you yesterday, I would have been lost in Termina forever."<em>

Cremia smiled and got curious about Joseph's origin.  
><em>"Tell me something about the land you're from. It's always interesting to listen to the foreigners in Clock Town and their origins, so I think you're interesting as well"<br>"Well, I live in a town too, but it's like 50 times bigger than Clock Town and with thousands of people in it. A lot of us live in such big cities. And everybody drives wagons that don't need horses to drive. Everybody can use these Smartphones to talk to each other on a large distance or to make photos or to listen to music. And I go to a school for electrical engineering, so I can …"_ began Joseph and told her a lot about the world he lived in.

Even though Cremia didn't get everything he said because she never heard of terms like electricity or internet, she liked his story. After about 30 minutes of pure cultural exchange, they arrived at Romani's Ranch. Both climbed down and saw Link and Romani sleeping next to each other at the backside.  
><em>"Awww they are so sweet together"<em> said Cremia.  
><em>"Maybe we shouldn't awake them"<em> answered Joseph and put Link in his arms. Cremia nodded and did the same with Romani, and then both entered the ranch-house.

"_There is a haystack over there. I will put Link in there, ok?"_ whispered Joseph and Cremia nodded again.  
><em>"Where will you sleep?"<em> asked Cremia. Joseph answered with _"oh … uhm … don't mind me, I'll find a nice place"_ and blinked.  
><em>"Good night Joseph and Link"<em> whispered Cremia and walked upstairs with Romani in her arms.

**Romani Ranch – About 6:20 AM:**

Joseph was sleeping very well and so did Link. But they soon woke up because they felt a gentle shaking. Was it an earthquake? Of course not, it was Romani and Cremia, who shook them awake.  
>Both were still tired because they usually don't wake up that early. But to fulfill Cremia's request they had to wake up and be ready.<p>

Cremia chuckled while shaking Joseph because he slept on the carpet again like he did yesterday. Link had a more comfort bed but couldn't stay long in it because the young and energized ranch girl named Romani wanted to play immediately and pulled Link out of the hay.  
>But first … breakfast time!<p>

The kitchen had a very tasty scent in the air because Cremia made some delicious pancakes for her, her sister and her guests. Cremia was a master in cooking. She used only ingredients with a very high quality and learned a lot from her mother when she was as old as Romani. After she put the first pancakes on a plate and gave it to Link and Joseph, both were curious how it will taste.  
>Wow! After Link and Joseph had a first taste of the pancakes, they opened their eyes widely and immediately began to scoff the rest of their breakfast. These were the most delicious pancakes they'd ever eaten.<br>Cremia was surprised how much they liked her pancakes and her cheeks blushed because of the many compliments from them.  
><em>"Thank you so much, guys"<em> she said shyly and began to make some more.

After the very delicious breakfast, Link asked Cremia if he could help her with the chores.  
><em>"Good idea, Link. I will help too!" <em>said Joseph and both stood up and soon stood in front of Cremia.  
><em>"Awaiting orders, ma'am!"<em> said Joseph and everybody in the room laughed.

Cremia was very happy about the offer they gave her. Romani wasn't that helpful and played more instead of helping Cremia with her chores. Cremia was a really hard-working person and was happy about every help she got offered.

Link was helping Cremia in milking the cows, because she soon had to sell some milk and Chateau again unless she wants to go bankrupt. The ranch-sisters weren't really the richest people in Termina. Days and days of hard work just for a few rupees wasn't really nice, but Cremia took care of the ranch since her parents died and someone had to take care of it.

Joseph was using an axe to chop some wood for the chimney in the ranch-house. Chopping such amounts of firewood was quite exhausting. Joseph wasn't really the weakest but nor was he the strongest. But after five hours of pure manpower, some breaks and heavy breathing, he chopped so much wood that you could survive about 2 winters with that amount of firewood.

At about 3:00 PM every chore was done, which was quite unusual for the ranch-girls. Now they had so much free time left. Joseph and Link were still searching for a way to come back to their home worlds but somehow Romani wanted everybody to sit at the table in their kitchen. What would the little girl want to say?

"_Joseph. Link. Thank you for helping us so much. I am not used to have so much free time left"_ said Cremia to her two helpers. Then she turned to Romani and asked: _"You wanted to say something, my dear sister?"_  
>She gulped and began to speak:<br>_"Yes sister. Romani wanted to ask something. Well … uhm … it looks like you aren't so exhausted from working today. Grasshopper and Blueberry helped you a lot and I liked it to play with Grasshopper as well. It was a lot of fun!  
>I … uhm … Romani wanted to ask if … well … if Link and Joseph could stay here for longer …" <em>

Cremia looked at Romani with a surprised glimpse. She never said their real names and she rarely spoke in first person. So that means that Romani was serious. Very serious to be exact.  
>Hmmm … Cremia thought about it … because her suggestion was really good. Cremia said to Link and Joseph that she welcomes company because she feels quite lonely before. And their help is really helping Cremia with the massive amount of chores and the pain in her muscles. And maybe the farm-business could have an advantage of their company too, so why not?<p>

"_Well, Romani … actually … I think you are right. Link and Joseph. I welcome your company and you helped me so much today that I don't know what I should do with my free time right now. You can live here if you want. Romani and me would really like it"_ said Cremia while holding Romani in her arms. Both ranch-women had a smile in her faces.

Link smiled, stood up and after he stood in front of the girls, he bowed and said:  
><em>"it would be a pleasure to live at Romani Ranch".<em>  
>Joseph did the same and said<em>: "My manpower may also be your manpower"<em>.  
>Cremia began to laugh and Romani jumped like crazy while shouting <em>"wohoo!"<em> all the time.

After Link and Joseph finished their bow, both suddenly felt warm and fuzzy inside because Romani was hugging Link and Cremia was hugging Joseph.  
>The ranch sisters sure knew how to make someone warm and fuzzy inside …<p>

**- End of Chapter 9 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__At the moment, I am also working on a colorized cover image for the story as well. _

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	10. Ranch-Life - Part I

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Finally I have holidays now, so I can upload chapters more frequently! In the holidays I'll try to upload 1 chapter every day (with a minimum of 1.500 words each).  
>Sorry for not uploading for two days. It seemed like was changing something on their servers, so I couldn't upload it anyways.<em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 10: Ranch Life Part I -**

**Romani Ranch – About 6:50 PM:**

The hug from the ranch-sisters was really heart-warming for both of them. Hugs from these young women were somehow strange, but strange in a good way. It felt different from other hugs … somehow like they would canalize all their love to the person they were hugging at that moment. Their body-warmth mixed with the lovely, natural scent of the women intensified the effect. These hugs were more heart-warming than every other hug they knew.

"_Grasshopper, Blueberry, this time you will need better beds unless you like to sleep on the ground"_ said Romani to them and everyone agreed. Sleeping in the haystack was quite comfortable (if you don't mind the tickling feeling you'll always have in your nose) but always sleeping on the carpet, or should I say the cold hard ground, wasn't that comfortable.

But the ranch-sisters couldn't share their beds with them either because they weren't really made for two people. Even if they were, Cremia didn't want to share at this moment because … well … she was quite shy about sleeping next to a man. Even though Cremia's cheeks blushed because of the thought that she could share a bed with Joseph, she wasn't really ready for that. In that regard, Cremia has been always shy about thinking to sleep next to a man … or even to cuddle with him.  
>Another thing what worried her too, was to think about Link and Romani sleeping next to each other because the children were about to be teens soon. And teens in their puberty try out … miscellaneous things. Cremia shook her head slightly in the hope she'll shake such thoughts out of her head too.<p>

Then she turned to Link and Joseph and said to them:  
><em>"Romani is right again. You two will need a bed if you want to live on the ranch now".<em>  
><em>"That's right … hmmm … what about … hmmm … what about if we build one for us?"<em> answered Link and turned his head to Joseph.  
><em>"That might be a good idea. Let me think about it"<em> answered Joseph and used his super-logical, electrical-engineering brainpower to think about a possible concept of a modern and highly-developed place to sleep.

"_Some blankets for a soft ground and my pullover as a pillow might do it"_ he said and grinned at the ranch-girls. Cremia and Romani began to laugh because of his simple suggestion. The young man in blue didn't seem to have very high standards for a sleeping place. Link on the other side suggested to cover the haystack with some blankets, so he won't get ticklish hay in his mouth or his nose while sleeping in it which was a quite good idea. Cremia agreed with their ideas and thought about where she stored her blankets … hmmm … ah yes, she stored the blankets in a drawer on the ground floor.

After both beds were finished, everybody went to sleep, because the ranch closed at 8:00 pm and the ranch-girls always went to sleep so early. Everybody except Joseph's biorhythm was okay with that because he was used to go to sleep at midnight … like a real engineering-student. But if he wanted to sleep here, he had to follow their rules and conform to the ranch-sisters.

The night was calm as well and the new ranch-dwellers tried out their new beds. At first it needed some time to find a comfort sleeping position but after an hour everybody was asleep.

This time they also felt something like a gentle shaking and woke up because of that. It was the ranch-sisters again. Cremia shook Joseph awake with a smile and greeted him with a _"good morning"_ and Romani pulled Link out of his bed again because she was highly-energized again.  
>Breakfast time again, but this time Cremia made some scrambled eggs instead of pancakes … and it tasted wonderful again.<p>

**Romani Ranch – After the Breakfast:**

Now it was time to begin the work.  
><em>"Joseph, come with me today, okay? I will need your help and I will show you … something interesting"<em> said Cremia to him after they finished their breakfast. What could she want to show to him? Joseph gulped and thought about what would she do with him? He expected the worst.

"_Uhm … yes. Okay Cremia …"_ answered Joseph. After the shy answer, Cremia turned to Link and Romani and told them:  
><em>"I don't have any chores for you right now. So you can go and play outside if you want".<em>  
><em>"Yay! Thanks sis! Come on Grasshopper, let's shoot some balloons!"<em> answered Romani, took Link's hand and dragged him out of the ranch-house. Romani obviously enjoyed it a lot to have a friend to play with.

After the preteens left, Cremia and Joseph were still in the ranch house and Cremia asked Joseph to come closer. Cremia smiled and looked into Josephs dark-brown eyes, while she was standing next to the stove. Joseph gulped and came closer until he stood in front of Cremia. He took a deep breath, looked into her deep blue eyes and asked Cremia with widely opened eyes: _"Uhm … w-what do you want me to show … C-Cremia?"_  
>He knew things were getting very serious at this moment …<p>

After a short moment of silence, Cremia said: _"Oh you will definitely like this!"_  
>She closed her eyes for a few seconds and after she took a deep breath, Joseph knew shit just got serious. Was the beautiful and very kind older ranch-girl really about to … wait … what?<p>

She turned right, opened a drawer and put a bottle out of it with a shiny, purple sticker on it. Then she gave the bottle to Joseph, who looked at her with widely opened eyes and a nervous glimpse first but after he held the bottle in his hands, he released his nervous thoughts and switched to confusion (again). _"Oh … whew … well uhm … what's this?"_ asked Joseph.

Cremia grinned and said:"_This is Chateau Romani. The most desired of forbidden milk in whole Termina. Try it if you want"_  
><em>"Forbidden milk? Why would someone forbid milk? Well never mind, I'll give it a try"<em> he answered and opened the bottle. First he smelled the _"forbidden"_ milk. It smelled like a mixture of milk, vanilla, cinnamon and some other unknown scents but it also had an alcoholic scent in it. Smelled pretty good, so Joseph gave it a try and took a big gulp. Joseph opened his eyes widely for the third time today. Inside of his head, it felt like a firework of joy. His gustatory nerves also exploded because of the pure taste of awesomeness. Through Joseph's body flew so much energy, it felt like he could shoot lightnings out of his fingers.

"_Holy shit, Cremia! What the hell is this drink? I feel … great!"_ said Joseph to Cremia, who began to laugh after Joseph took the gulp. She didn't know that Chateau Romani had so much effect on a non-Terminan person.

"_Joseph, you will help me to make some Chateau Romani today. I will show you how to make some. And tomorrow we will ride into town to sell it, so I am financially stable again. Okay?"_  
>Of course Cremia had to make some Chateau Romani out of some fresh Romani-Ranch milk and their secret ingredients. The day after, she would sell it to the Milk-Bar and be financially safe again.<br>She also thought it would be a good idea to let her newest guest Joseph taste the mysterious drink too. He was adult for sure in her eyes, because of his good manners and heroic actions the days before … and he's also one year older than her. Maybe he would like the Chateau Romani too.  
>And he did …<p>

After the tasty explosion in Joseph's mouth, Cremia put every ingredient for the production of Chateau Romani at the table, sat down next to him and showed Joseph how he could make Chateau-Romani …

**Meanwhile at the outside of Romani Ranch – About 8:00 AM:**

Meanwhile, the younger ones, Link and Romani, prepared everything for their archery-training.  
>One balloon, two balloons, three balloons ...<br>One arrow, two arrows, three arrows …  
>After everything was prepared and their shooting gallery was ready, Link was the first one, who started the training. Link used 13 arrows because he missed 3 times. He shot one arrow every 1.3 seconds. Romani was quite impressed, because he was a quite good archer for someone in his age. After Links Training, Romani turned to Link and said:<br>_"Now Romani will show you how good she is at shooting __**"them".**__"_

She was a very confident person for sure. So Romani picked up her quiver and wore it like a backpack. Her hair shined in a bright red because the sun was behind her hair and a slight wind blew through the green grassland. She aimed with the bow from her father at the 10 targets and after Link gave the signal, the balloons plopped so fast, because she shot faster than Link could imagine. 1 shot per second. 10 seconds to destroy 10 targets. One shot … one kill. That's amazing for a person in her age.

Link stood next to her and looked at her with a very surprised glimpse. She was a real badass with her bow. Then Romani turned to Link and asked him:  
><em>"See Grasshopper? Romani is very fast at shooting! Do you also think that Romani is good?"<em>  
>Link nodded with his still surprised facial expression. <em>"Oh my god, Romani! You're awesome!"<em> said Link to her in an impressed voice, which caused Romani to hug him. _"Awww thank you Grasshopper!" _

He felt warm and fuzzy … again. Wow … he could really get used to this feeling.

"_Grasshopper likes it when Romani is hugging him, right?"_ she asked him and Link answered with:  
><em>"Yes, I … uhm … I really do".<em> After his answer, Romani hugged him even harder. It was like she was squeezing him. Link put his arms around Romani and hugged her too. Both hugged for nearly a minute like this. The view was really lovely, seeing two preteens hugging each other so lovely was really heart-warming.

After the lovely hug, Romani held Link's hands, looked into his deep blue eyes with a lovely smile and asked: "Grasshopper … can … can I ask you something?"  
>Link gulped because he knew things were getting pretty serious now … but he nodded, so he was prepared for every situation. Romani's cheeks were slightly red; she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and took a deep breath. Link gulped again because he knew shit just got serious.<br>Was the cute and highly-energized younger ranch-girl really about to … wait … what?

"_Can Grasshopper teach me how to fight with a sword?"_ she asked, which caused Link to release his nervous feeling.  
><em>"Is … everything okay, Grasshopper?"<em> asked Romani, because of Links sudden release of breath and his sudden change of facial expression.  
><em>"Yes I am fine, Romani. And yes, I will teach you how to fight with a sword"<em> he said to her, which caused Romani to jump for joy.

So both built up something like a training-station to teach Romani everything she should know for combat …

**- End of Chapter 10 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__At the moment, I am also working on a colorized cover image for the story as well. _

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	11. Ranch-Life - Part II

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Ranch-Life Part two of three is online now!  
>One thing to mention to avoid confusion: A lucid dream is a dream, where you know you are dreaming. You can recognize such dream with some simple tricks and after you recognize your dream, you can form the world around you like you want it to transform.<em>

Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<p>

**- Chapter 11: Ranch Life Part II -**

**Romani Ranch (Outside) – About 10:00 AM:**

After the boy in green and the young redhead built up a good training station with some scarecrows as dummies, Link gave Romani his Kokiri-Sword and showed her how to handle the weapon that already killed a lot of dangerous creatures in Hyrule and Termina.  
><em>"You must hold it like … this!"<em> said Link to Romani while standing behind her. He held her soft hands and guided her to the optimal position to do the maximal possible damage to their targets.

Somehow, Link had an unknown and strange but warm and pleasurable feeling and his heart-beat was stronger than usual while standing behind Romani. What was this strange feeling? Was he sick? Hmmm … probably not. He hasn't been sick since he became the Hero of Time. Ah never mind! At this moment it wasn't the right time to think about how he felt. It was time to show Romani how to become a real badass … just like Link.

"_Everything okay with you, Grasshopper? Grasshopper seems to be very quiet today"_ asked Romani her new teacher and he answered with:  
><em>"Yes … uhm … as I told you, I am fine. Now when you hold the sword like this, you must always watch for their weak points first and hit it with a fast sword stroke like this"<em> and Romani cut the arm of one of the dummies.

"_Now try to cut the other targets as well"_ asked Link his new friend … then he took a few steps backwards … just to be sure. Then Romani swung Link's sword like she already had fought several wars. After a few seconds, most body parts of the dummies were cut in half.

"_Grasshopper, what do you think? Was Romani good?"_ asked Romani her teacher and he nodded back with a surprised glimpse. _"You're amazing, Romani! You're so good at handling weapons. But how?"_ asked Link.  
>Link was amazed for the second time at this day. Romani was for sure very talented in handling several weapons.<p>

"_My father told me how to handle a bow and sometimes a sword. Sometimes I was also allowed to fight against __**them**__"_ answered Romani in an unusual and serious voice.  
>"Grasshopper, let's train how to shoot with the bow while riding on a horse!" said Romani in her usual and highly-energized voice again and Link nodded with a smile …<p>

**Meanwhile inside the Ranch-House:**

Cremia was sitting next to Joseph. On the table were plenty of empty bottles, a lot of several mysterious ingredients and a few kitchen-tools like eggbeater, some bowls, two beakers and a few spoons. Next to the table were about 5 big milk-containers, which contained plenty of the fresh ranch-milk.

"_Okay Joseph, now I will show you how to make Chateau Romani. But please promise me that you'll never tell anybody. This is a secret recipe of my family and is given away only to persons who are either members of the Romani family or very trustful friends of the family. Okay?"_ said Cremia to Joseph, who was surprised that his new friend already trusted him enough to show him such a secret recipe.

"_I will promise it that I will keep it secret. I … uhm … I am just surprised that you already trust me so much" _said Joseph to Cremia, who smiled at him.  
><em>"Joseph, you helped me twice in a row and saved my life. Everything I could do at this moment was to trust you. I trusted you and you didn't disappoint me in this emergency. So I acknowledge you as a trustful and reasonable adult and as a friend of the Romani family"<em> answered Cremia and blinked.

"_Okay, first of all you must take one of the beakers and pour 100ml of our milk in it. Then add exactly 30ml of this special spiced rum to the milk and mix by using this spoon …"_ began Cremia and after the mixture was complete, she grabbed a bottle with a strange red-brown liquid in it.  
><em>"Now you must be very careful with this liquid. Only add about half a spoon of it and …"<br>_Then Joseph interrupted her and asked Cremia: _"What is this liquid?"_

"_This is the spice-liquor number three mixed with a small amount of red and green potion. Please use it carefully. If you use too much, the Chateau will be too spicy. If you use too less, the Chateau will miss its well known kick"_ Cremia answered and confused Joseph because he'd never heard of this ingredients before. But he accepted Cremia's warning and tried to make his first Chateau.

While Cremia watched him and explained the final steps to him, she also had this strange but warm and pleasurable feeling and her heart-beat became stronger than usual while sitting next to Joseph. What was this strange feeling? She had a similar feeling once but it couldn't be the same she was thinking about … or could it? Was she sick? Hmmm … probably not. The hard work on the ranch improved her immune-system a lot. Ah never mind! At this moment it wasn't the right time to think about how she felt. It was time to produce some Chateau Romani alongside with Joseph because she really needed some money for food-supplies again.

**Romani Ranch (Inside the Ranch-House) – About 6:00 PM:**

After Link and Romani trained the whole afternoon together how to shoot different targets while riding a horse and after Joseph and Cremia produced several liters of Chateau Romani together to sell it the day after, everyone had a grumbling stomach because of hunger. It was time for dinner!

Cremia only had a few supplies for one dinner and for one breakfast left, so it was about time to buy some food again very soon! To Joseph it was unknown to have so many worries about food supplies. He was raised in a city, where you can buy food every 10 meters. But not only the short food supplies were strange to Joseph, he also began to miss other things from his world. Like communications to his friends, like connection to the internet, like his computer games or even simple and everyday things like electricity and a safe and soft place to sleep.

While Cremia was making a tasty dinner and while Link and Romani waited patiently for something to eat, Joseph used the time and revisited some old questions again. In his thinking position, he began to reconstruct the situation he was in right now:  
><em>"The last thing I can remember is that I bought a cartridge of Majoras Mask for the Nintendo 64. The cartridge felt strange in my hands and somehow … electricity flew through my body … and this caused me to lose my consciousness. But one question: How?"<em>

Joseph was thinking hard to explain how this could happen. Joseph, as a student for electrical engineering, learned to bring such things into question and to think critical and logical.

"_Illogical thing number one: How is it possible that so much current flew through a small cartridge of … plastic?! Plastic is an insulator, which is the illogical thing number two.  
>Hmmm … well … you've got me there! But ignoring that; how is it even possible that I am in such a world? I am not dreaming because there is no signal that this is a lucid dream. I have ten fingers, I can't influence the world here with my thoughts and the situation would last for too long to be a dream"<em> … thought Joseph and shook his head slightly.

_"Could it be … that this is some kind of virtual reality? Hmmm … but I bought a cartridge for the Nintendo 64. The system couldn't handle so much memory. Also; it is absolutely impossible that this is a game because really really __**really**__ no programmer in the whole world would be able to program such an intelligent artificial intelligence. Cremia, Romani, Link, Anju and even these Gorman Brothers were way too intelligent to be just programmed NPC's. And besides the intelligence of these people, the graphics can't be so hyper realistic either. I mean I live in the year 2015, where games do look really realistic, but still not realistic enough to be considered real.  
>Besides graphics and intelligence, how is it possible that my senses are so well integrated?<br>I can see like I do in the real world. I can touch everything. I can taste the awesome food of Cremia and the ranch actually smells like a ranch should smell. I can even hurt myself and feel the pain, like I did in this weird forest. This can't be virtual reality … or can it?"_

After Joseph asked this question to himself he looked at Link and thought:  
><em>"But Link must be definitely virtual. Link is a character, who was invented by a guy from Nintendo. And I believe that whole Termina and even the Romani-Ranch are invented and playable in the game. So somehow this must be some kind of virtual reality. But this is contradicting with my other thesis.<br>No company, no programmer, no one can ever create a world that feels so realistic. Even though it's 2015 where technology is amazingly advanced, and even if this is a virtual reality, how did I even get here? I was …" _

"_Dinner is ready; I hope you will like it!"_ interrupted Cremia and everyone got a nice plate of food and a glass of fresh ranch-milk.  
><em>"Oh … uhm … thank you Cremia"<em> answered Joseph who got dragged back into reality, if you consider this world as reality.  
><em>"Is everything okay with Blueberry? Grasshopper and Blueberry behave very strange today …"<em> asked Romani because of the thinking glimpse he had since Cremia began to cook.  
><em>"Yes Romani, I am fine. I was … just thinking …"<em> answered Joseph but Romani wasn't satisfied with his answer and asked: _"Thinking about what?"_

"_Romani, please eat now. You can ask later but now it's time for dinner"_ said Cremia to her little sister. _"Yes sis. Sorry …"_ answered the young ranch-girl and everybody ate the tasty dinner.

**Romani Ranch (Inside the Ranch-House) – After the Dinner on the early evening:**

"_Your cooking skills are always fascinating me, Cremia!"_ said Joseph.  
><em>"A very good meal, sis. Romani's stomach is sated again"<em> said Romani.  
><em>"I rarely eat something that tastes so awesome!"<em> said Link.

Cremia is not used to so many compliments and her cheeks blushed. _"Thank you so much"_ was everything she could say in this situation.  
><em>"Grasshopper, let's go upstairs and play a bit! Romani has a nice card game that she wants to show you!"<em> said Romani and dragged Link upstairs. Joseph and Cremia began to chuckle because they were too cute together. After the younger ones went to the sleeping room, the older ones were still sitting on the table.

"_Romani was right. You two are very quiet today. What were you thinking about?"_ asked Cremia and broke the silence with her question.  
><em>"Pardon?"<em> responded Joseph, because he didn't hear her question somehow.  
><em>"Is everything okay with you? I asked what you were thinking about while I made Dinner. Because you were really preoccupied"<em> she repeated.  
><em>"Well, it might sound strange if I explain it to you. I was thinking about how I came to this world. Because there is one thing that is really confusing me"<em> answered Joseph shyly. Cremia sat next to him because she was very curious about Joseph's origin.  
><em>"Just tell me about it. Maybe I can help you"<em> said Cremia and Joseph continued:

"_Well. In the world where I come from, we have the ability to … uhm … to create worlds that can be explored and contain several people. We can see this worlds in … uhm … in a kind of movable picture-frames called TV and we can control one of these characters. We call this "computer-games". This sounds very strange, isn't it?"_ asked Joseph and Cremia responded with:  
><em>"Well … yes that sounds really strange. First of all, how can you people create these worlds and these characters? Are you gods?"<em>

Joseph laughed slightly and answered: _"No, we are not gods. We use technology like … uhm … like in my Smartphone. We can play games on the Smartphones but also on such TV's. Not only board- and card-games but also these so called computer games."_

"_And what do these games have to do with your origin?"_ asked Cremia.  
><em>"And this, Cremia, is where the interesting part begins. I came to this world a few days ago by holding such a computer-game in my hands. While holding it in my hands, I lost my consciousness and woke up in a forest. After that I came to Clock-Town and so on …"<em> said Joseph. He gulped and took a deep breath because he feared Cremia's reaction.

"_Please don't get mad Cremia. But … uhm … how should I explain it?  
>Well … the world here … Termina, Clock-Town and even Romani-Ranch are part of this computer-game. I came to that conclusion because of Links existence in here. Link is a well known person from another computer-game. And the thing that is really confusing me is how this all can be even real if this world shouldn't exist at all.<br>But to be honest: It is nearly impossible that this is just a computer-game. Cremia, you look so real, you feel so real, so smell so real, you even interact like a real human being. You look too good and too real to be a game-character"_ explained Joseph to Cremia.

Cremia looked at Joseph with a mix of surprise, confusion and curiosity_. "This is somehow disturbing and fascinating at the same time"_ said Cremia to him and remembered what she had seen a few days before.

"_Joseph, you said that you woke up in the middle of a forest, right? Well, a few days ago, I saw a strange … uhm … light blue vortex … I guess … over the forest between Woodfall and Ikana Canyon. It was at the dusk. Could it be that you came out of this vortex?"_ asked Cremia, which shocked Joseph.

"_Wow … could … could this really be the case? Hmmm … *yawn* … oh …"_ said Joseph and began to laugh.  
><em>"Sorry Cremia. I am so tired. Maybe I should think about it tomorrow again."<em>

Both began to laugh because Joseph was right. The day was long for both of them and they were tired. Maybe it was the right time to go to sleep now. But before they went upstairs, Cremia's curiosity was still strong, so she began to ask Joseph a few more questions …

**- End of Chapter 11 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__At the moment, I am also working on a colorized cover image for the story as well. _

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	12. Ranch-Life - Part III

_**Notes from the Author:**__ The final part of Ranch-Life is online now! Maybe with a bit too much romance this time, but be prepared for more adventure and less romance in future chapters! ;)_

_One thing to mention additionally: GrayFox786__ suggested, that the romance-part shouldn't progress to quickly ... and I have to agree. But I can say to you, that I've already planned to go away from the romance part and focus way more on the adventure part in the upcoming chapters. So don't worry, the characters won't pair up to quickly ;)  
><em>_  
>Please comment, criticize and have fun here too! Your opinion is important for me!<em>  
><em>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 12: Ranch Life Part III -**

**Romani Ranch (Inside the Ranch-House) – Half an hour before bedtime:**

"_Before we go to bed, may I ask you something?"_ asked Cremia her new friend and worker in a shy voice and with slightly blushed cheeks.  
><em>"Uhm … *yawn*… sure"<em> he answered and Cremia took another deep breath.

"_Uhm … if you have the possibility to … go back to your world, will you go back? I-I mean … uhm … do you like the live on the ranch?"_ asked Cremia with curious eyes.  
><em>"Hmmm … good question … you've got me there! I really miss my family, my friends, the luxury of electricity and communication and somehow even my school …"<em> answered Joseph.

Cremia's facial expression went from curious to slightly sad. Was Cremia already used to Joseph's and Link's company? On one side she would miss the manpower of Joseph because he was a quite skilful man, who helped Cremia a lot. But somehow there's more than just his working skills that impressed Cremia. On the other side she would also miss his pure existence in its whole. He is a kind and reasonable, young man, who is just a few months older than her.  
>Hmmm … that feeling … strange … somehow Cremia already knew this feeling … but from where? The feeling to see a possible person who could live with her at the ranch, help her, raise a family with her … but … well … in the end … she was left alone … condemned to be lonely … again.<br>Was this situation repeating itself again? To lose this possible bright future? Cremia's heart felt the same pain again and …

"_But on the other side …" _interrupted Joseph with a smile_ "… the life at the ranch here is different but different in a good way. Maybe I will stay here and help you. Or maybe if there is some kind of portal … then I could live in both worlds. But at the moment, I have no other choice to live here at the ranch and trust you until I understand this world in its whole. This is not a dream, neither is it virtual reality. So what else could it be? I will think about it but at the moment, I will live here and help you and Romani at the ranch."_

His offer caused Cremia to change her facial expression from growing sorrow back to a lovely smile.  
>This also caused Cremia to suddenly ask Joseph a very private question:<br>_"Uhm … you're so nice and helpful … how is it possible that you don't have a girlfriend?"  
><em>Joseph smiled and responded: _"The girls in my age, well at least the ones that I know in my world, aren't very reasonable at all. The only thing they think about is to party all day and night and to change their partners more often than their panties. I couldn't live with such a person together very long"_

Cremia is changing her expression a lot today because now she is surprised. Party all day and night and being a whore? These things aren't socially accepted in Termina or even possible.

"_What about you Cremia?"_ asked Joseph and interrupted Cremia for the second time today.  
><em>"I … uhm … well … w-what do you mean?"<em> she answered.  
><em>"Why are you single either? You are beautiful, you are reasonable, you are also hard-working and your food is awesome as well"<em> asked Joseph and listed some arguments.  
>Cremia's cheeks blushed but this time very obvious in a bright red and she answered with:<br>_"Oh … uhm … hehe … thank … thank you Joseph that … flatters me but … well uhm … the reason is that in Termina people with red hair are often considered as whores and bandits, maybe because of the Gerudo-Pirates in the Great Bay. So these people aren't considered as beautiful. Romani and I are red-haired as well, so we aren't very attractive to most of the people in Termina."_

Joseph's eyes opened widely because this is the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.  
><em>"What's this silly logic? Just because a few people with red hair are considered evil means that every person with red hair is automatically evil. But after I met Anju, Romani and you I saw the … *yawn* … opposite …" <em>

Cremia felt sheepish at this moment because of his protective argumentation but she got tired as well because of the yawns. "Let's go to sleep now" said Cremia to Joseph. Both stood up and walked upstairs. In front of the door they heard loud laughter. Maybe because of Link and Romani, who were playing a card game?

"_See? Even Link seems to like Romani and I think he is also considering her as beautiful. Children don't think in such a stupid way …"_ said Joseph to Cremia, who smiled back because he was still defending the ranch-girls.

**Romani Ranch (Bedroom) – Bedtime:**

But as soon as they entered the bedroom, both stood next to each other with widely opened eyes and a widely opened mouth. Romani was sitting on Link, who lay in Romani's bed. Romani jumped up and down on him and both laughed a lot together. Romani then turned to Cremia and asked:  
><em>"Sis, can Grasshopper sleep with Romani tonight? Please …" <em>

Cremia's shocked face then turned to Joseph in the hope he can explain to her what was happening at this moment. But Joseph grinned and had an impressed expression in his face. Then he turned to Cremia as well and said:  
><em>"Well … that escalated quickly …"<em>  
>Then he couldn't resist laughing anymore.<p>

After his impertinent answer, Cremia gave him a pat on his shoulder with a smile and ran to Romani.  
><em>"Romani, go away from Link!"<em> she shouted to her little sister and dragged her out of her own bed.  
><em>"Why, sister?"<em> she asked back.  
><em>"Don't sit on a boy like this and jump up and down …"<em> admonished Cremia her little sister, who got confused.  
><em>"But why, sister? Romani just wanted to have fun with Grasshopper …"<em> and Romani got sad.  
><em>"Because … uhm … well you can't just jump up and down on a boy like this in a bed … because … uhm … because …" <em>answered Cremia and searched for a good explanation.

Then Joseph walked to Romani, put his hand on her shoulder, looked into her face and said:  
><em>"Because that might destroy your bed. You know, wood is not that stable? And if you jump up and down on Link, then your bed will turn to a pile of wooden junk. Do you want to sleep on a pile of wooden junk?" <em>

Romani shook her head and was satisfied with Joseph's simple and logical answer.  
><em>"Romani won't sit on Grasshopper again and be more careful in the future"<em> answered Romani to Joseph and her older sister. Cremia exhaled and thanked Joseph for his help in this tricky situation.

"_But can Grasshopper sleep with Romani in her bed tonight?"_ asked Romani her sister again.  
>Cremia didn't really like her question because Link and Romani will soon come in their puberty and … well … try out some things that teenager usually try out … together.<br>_"… and Blueberry, will you sleep with sister too? So nobody will be alone tonight"_ asked Cremia's innocent little sister.

Joseph gulped and looked at Cremia. Both looked at each other with an embarrassed glimpse because … well … the bed wasn't really that big for two persons, so they had to cuddle a lot if they wanted to sleep together.  
>Cremia took a deep breath … thought for a few seconds about Romani's idea and made a decision:<br>_"Well … R-Romani … maybe we should … try it out. B-But I hope that the beds will be big enough for both of us … hehe … he …"_  
>Cremia's voice was very shy but her decision was courageous. Sleeping next to a man was new for her, but trying it out would be an interesting new experience for her.<p>

Joseph smiled because of her decision. But Link on the other side got nervous because of Romani's sudden idea. The Hero of Time fought against big armies of scary creatures, entered the darkest caves and defeated the definition of evil himself but sleeping next to a cute girl? For the whole night? That would need a lot more courage than usual … but why? What's so special about Romani? She is a good friend indeed, but why was his heart beating stronger next to her? That didn't even make sense to him … or did it?

"_Okay, we must go to bed now. We must drive to Clock-Town tomorrow in the afternoon, so don't be tired tomorrow!"_ said Cremia to everyone in the room and readied the beds. Meanwhile Link sat next to Romani on her bed.

"_Romani is glad that she has someone to sleep next to tonight. Even if sister is next to me, I feel a bit lonely sometimes. But now Grasshopper is next to me!"_ said Romani to Link, who gulped and nodded.  
><em>"I-I am glad too that … that I can s-sleep with you tonight, R-Romani" <em>answered Link with blushed cheeks.

As soon as both beds were readied, everybody lay down and Cremia blew out the candles. Then she said to Romani and Link: _"But I warn you! Don't do something forbidden"._  
>Romani didn't understand what her sister meant with "something forbidden", but she answered with <em>"okay". <em>

Then, everybody felt asleep until the dawn of a new day ... a day full of business and … things that might have changed her destiny forever …

**- End of Chapter 12 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__At the moment, I am also working on a colorized cover image for the story as well. _

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	13. Revenge of the mad marauders

_**Notes from the Author:**__ I think number "13" is the right number for this chapter because the silent and peaceful ranch-life will be broken right now. ;)  
>I also made the chapter longer because I want to describe the situation more accurate. The length of this chapter is my current high-score with 3.108 words. <em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 13: Revenge of the mad marauders -**

**Romani Ranch (Inside the Ranch-House) – About 5:30 AM:**

The night was calm … as always. Since Joseph and Link live at Romani-Ranch every night had been quiet and comfortable so far. But this time the night was even more comfortable for the young men and women because a warm body next to them helped them to fall asleep even faster. This time, even Cremia had a good night. In the last few weeks Cremia had problems to fall asleep because she felt some kind of pain in her muscles … probably because of the hard work and the massive amount of stress.

But soon, Cremia slowly began to awake … this time half an hour earlier for some reason. She felt something warm and soft in her right arm and smelled a similar scent this time. But what was it? She slowly began to open her eyes and … saw that she lay on her stomach next to Joseph. Her arm lay on Joseph's shoulder like she was hugging him the whole night. After she realized her situation, her eyes opened widely, she immediately moved back and held her hand in front of her mouth while she blushed a lot. Did she cuddle with him the whole night?

Cremia stood up very fast, went down to the kitchen and prepared breakfast … with an ashamed feeling. Soon Link, Joseph and Romani went to the kitchen as well and … mmmh what a lovely scent in the air … smelled like Ham and Eggs this time.  
>While everyone ate the tasty breakfast, nobody spoke one word. The most silence breakfast ever for most of them. Cremia still looked ashamed while being silent but broke the silence after everyone finished their meals because she said:<p>

"_I hope the meal tasted well. Link and Joseph, can you please prepare the wagon and put the milk-containers on it? We will ride to Clock-Town today."  
><em>The two young men nodded and immediately went to the stable, where Cremia always parked the wagon. Only Cremia and Romani were left. Then Cremia turned to Romani:  
><em>"Romani … I need to talk to you …"<em>

"_Yes sis? What's up?"_ asked Romani in a confused mien. Did she do something wrong? Cremia sat down next to Romani, put one hand on her shoulder and said:  
><em>"Romani … your idea last night … it was cute to sleep together with our new friends … but … we have to sleep separated in the future …"<em>

"_But Romani liked it sleeping next to Grasshopper … and you didn't mind to sleep next to Blueberry … so what's the problem, sister?"_ asked Romani and awaited a good explanation.  
><em>"Please Romani, this is something I can't explain to you right now because … well … you wouldn't understand …. Please, just listen to me this time, okay?"<em> answered Cremia.  
>Romani exhaled while making a sad face but answered with:<br>_"Okay sis … but I want a good explanation later"._ Then Cremia nodded and left the house together with Romani.

The wagon was nearly prepared. Joseph and Link were working hard for sure for their new home and helped Cremia a lot with their manpower. Only a few containers were left and had to be lifted up the wagon. But that was no problem for the two men. As soon as the wagon was finally prepared, everybody sat up the wagon and Cremia began to drive towards Clock-Town.

While they drove, Romani put out her card-game and showed it to her Grasshopper and her Blueberry. She explained the card-game to them like this:  
><em>"If Grasshopper has this card and Blueberry has this card, then this card "stings" this card because of the higher number. The color is not important here; my game is only about the numbers. And the two secret cards here are a risk and …" <em>

"_Romani, why are you always calling us Grasshopper and Blueberry?"_ asked Joseph while they played the second card-game-match.  
><em>"Because you are always wearing blue and you have a round face, so you are Blueberry. And Grasshopper is always wearing green and patter around when walking, so he is a Grasshopper to me"<em> answered Romani.  
><em>"Well, if that's the case, then I call you … uhm … what about Redleaf? See, you have long, red hair and you always run around as fast as the wind, so I will call you Redleaf"<em> responded Joseph and finally gave Romani a name as well which caused everyone to laugh.

After the carriage arrived in Clock-Town, Cremia parked the wagon as always between the eastern and northern entrance.  
><em>"Link and Romani, you both can go to the playground if you want. Joseph and I will sell the milk. So have fun!"<em> said Cremia to the younger ones. After they left, Cremia looked at Joseph sometimes with an ashamed glimpse, but now it wasn't the time to think about such ridiculous things. Now it was time to sell milk to be financially stable again.

So both went to the Milk-Bar first, where they sold all five containers of Chateau Romani and two containers of normal milk, which was quite unusual for Cremia. She sold all containers for about 1.000 rupees … that's a lot compared to the usual 600 rupees. So Joseph's manpower helped Cremia a lot and helped the ranch financially too, which made her quite happy. With 1.000 rupees in her satchel, Cremia could afford quite a lot of food supplies. But compared to the, also quite expensive, Euro the rupees were an even more expensive currency. One rupee was worth about two and a quarter Euros. One meal in Clock-Town costs about seven rupees. Now you can imagine how much it would cost in the world we unaware humans live in.

But now it was not the time to talk about money, it was still time to make some money. So our adolescent, redheaded rancher and our adolescent engineer in blue moved to the Stock Pot Inn, where they sell their milk as well. Joseph stood in front of the Stock Pot Inn and thought: _"Well … I am here … again …"_  
>When Cremia and Joseph entered the Stock Pot Inn, they saw Anju standing behind her desk, who greeted them with a lovely:<br>_"Cremia! Joseph! Nice to see you again!" _

"_Nice to see you too Anju. I am here because of some business. Do you want to buy some fresh milk?"_ answered Cremia to her best friend.  
>After Cremia asked Anju, a tall man with purple and brown clothes, bright red eyes and purple-blue hair came to Anju and stood next to her behind the desk and kissed her.<br>_"Honey, do we need some milk?"_ asked Anju her husband with the name Kafei. _"Yes I guess so" _answered Kafei in a deep voice. After Majora was defeated, Kafei grew back to his older self and regained his deep voice too.

"_Okay, then I will bring you some containers"_ answered Joseph to the lovely couple and got some containers together with Cremia. But Cremia was strange somehow. She lost her bright smile after the mysterious man entered the room.  
><em>"Everything okay, Cremia?"<em> asked Joseph. Cremia simply answered with:  
><em>"I am fine …"<em>

After they sold every milk-container in the town, they went to the north of Clock-Town to get Link and Romani … and finally back to the wagon … because it was already dusk.

Cremia didn't say one word and didn't smile for once while they drove back to their home, even if the others made some hilarious jokes sometimes.  
>Romani was sitting at the backside and played her card-game with Link and Joseph again. She gave her own card-game the lovely name "Dancing Rancher". Romani had a tricky situation while playing the card game, so she had to think about a good strategy to escape a possible failure. While thinking, she noticed a shadow running through the bushes in the dark. What was that?<p>

"_Redleaf! It's your turn!"_ said Link to Romani and pulled her thoughts back to their card game. Ah never mind, probably it was just a figment.  
>As soon as they finished their card-game, Cremia arrived at the ranch-stable and everybody climbed down. Then Cremia said to the others:<br>_"You can wait inside. I will put the wagon and the containers back into the stable. I will make some dinner after that"_

"_I will help you if you …"_ answered Link to Cremia but got interrupted by her.  
><em>"No, thank you. I will handle it alone. Just wait inside and play Romani's card game"<em> answered Cremia with a slightly anger voice.  
><em>"Are you sure?"<em> asked Joseph.  
><em>"Yes, as I said you, just wait inside. I just … need some time for myself, ok?"<em> answered Cremia with a slightly angry voice again. Why was she upset? Or what was wrong with her?  
>Ah well … never mind. It would be the best to not upset her even more, so everyone entered the Ranch-House, sat down to the kitchen-table and played some rounds of Romani's "Dancing Rancher".<p>

**Romani Ranch (Inside the Ranch-House) – About 6:10 PM:**

After four rounds of "Dancing Rancher", which all of them Link had won, our three protagonists heard a loud scream, coming from outside.  
><em>"What was that?"<em> asked Link and grabbed his sword. Romani ran to the milk containers in the corner of the kitchen because she had her bow and some arrows next to them.  
>Joseph had no weapon, so he simply stood up and ran outside.<p>

Link and Romani held their weapons like they will encounter the pure evil itself. Joseph was looking around and searched for Cremia … but neither did he see the wagon nor did he see Cremia. All three screamed _"CREMIA!"_ as loud as they could. But they didn't hear anything.

"_Aaaah!"_ could be heard again behind the hill of the grasslands of Romani's Ranch. That scream sounded like the one they heard in the kitchen before.  
><em>"The scream came from there!"<em> said Link and pointed to the hill. All three began to run and after they climbed the hill, they saw Cremia being dragged around on the dirty floor by two masked man. It seems like they wanted to drag her back to Milk Road for … whatever reason?!

"_Oh no, not them again …"_ said Joseph to himself and ran towards Cremia. But neither Joseph, nor Link were fast enough to match up with them. But suddenly a shorter person with red hair and her dangerous bow, named Romani, overtook Link and Joseph and ran way faster than they thought she was ever capable of.  
>Romani shot one arrow at the taller marauder … and hit him right into his shoulder!<br>She immediately shot a second arrow and hit him again … this time right into his shank.

The hurt marauder screamed and looked to his shorter brother. The shorter marauder saw that Romani was ready to shoot him as well and the boy in green seems to be dangerous as well with his sword, so both released Cremia and ran as fast as they could towards Milk Road.  
>But the taller marauder couldn't run very fast because Romani hit him twice and running too fast would be way too painful.<p>

The shorter one ran away but the taller one couldn't match with his younger brother, so Joseph used this chance to catch him. He focused all of his power in his legs and ran towards him.  
>Joseph then jumped and landed right into his back. Whew, at least one of them got caught. Maybe he can finally answer them why they are doing so much damage to the hard-working ranch-girls.<p>

Cremia stood up and cleaned her dirty blouse and skirt. Soon all four stood in front of the hurt marauder, who looked with fearful eyes through his mask and lay on the dirty ground like Cremia did.  
>Romani readied another arrow and was so angry at that moment that she wanted to kill him immediately by shooting an arrow straight through his masked face.<p>

"_Wait, Romani!"_ said Cremia to her and tried to calm her down.  
><em>"Are you hurt, sis?"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"I am okay. Just dirty but I am not hurt"<em> answered Cremia  
><em>"What will we do with him?"<em> asked Link and Joseph answered with:  
><em>"I think it would be a good idea to bring him to the ranch. Maybe he can tell us something interesting". <em>

Joseph and Link dragged the mysterious and hurt man to the ranch-house while Romani threatened him to shoot him again if he would make a fast movement.  
>After everyone was back in the house, Link took Cremia's chair because it had a larger backrest; Cremia got a rope to shackle him on the chair and Joseph put him on the chair while Romani was still targeting at his head with her bow in an angry mien.<p>

All four stood in front of the mysterious marauder, who was still masked … but not for long anymore.  
><em>"Time to show yourself …"<em> said Link to him and pulled his mask down.  
>Our four protagonists now finally saw the face of Cremia's possible death. It was a man with a large moustache, bushy eyebrows and an ugly face. It was the eldest Gorman-Brother.<p>

"_Gorman, you jerk!"_ said Romani to him in her angriest voice.  
><em>"Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you immediately"<em> threatened Romani in her most serious voice, which scared the Gorman because he'd never seen the younger ranch-sister so angry before.

Cremia stood in front of him and slapped him as hard as she'd never slapped anyone before. The pain in his face and the angry face of the older ranch-sister scared him even more.

Link stood to his left and held his sword right to his neck and threatened him as well:  
><em>"Romani is right, tell us one good reason why I shouldn't cut your throat right now."<em>

Joseph stood in the background and watched how Romani and Link threatened him and how Cremia gave him even more painful slaps. He had a strange feeling … somehow it was the same feeling he had when he saw Cremia crying before the wedding of Anju. A strange feeling in his guts. Even though Joseph was angry too because they dared to attack Cremia again, he had a feeling that the oldest Gorman-Brother shouldn't be executed right now. His mind said _"kill him"_ but his guts said _"save him"._

"_Wait! Go back please. I … I have to tell you something …" _said Joseph to his angry friends.  
>Cremia, Link and Romani turned to him and moved away from the fearful Gorman.<br>_"I … somehow I can't explain but … uhm …"_ began Joseph and finished _with "… Cremia, do you have a first aid kit?"_

She nodded, moved to one of the drawers in the kitchen and gave him a white bag with medics.  
><em>"Do you want to help him or what? Do you know he wanted to kill me?!"<em> said Cremia in an upset voice to Joseph who answered with:  
><em>"I don't like what he did either … but … but … killing him won't change anything. Please trust me … Cremia … please … just this time"<em>

The other ones moved back and looked at Joseph with expectancy. Then Joseph moved to the Gorman, who looked at Joseph with a surprised mien. Did Joseph really want to help the Marauder, who cut Cremia in her leg once and who tried to … kill … or rape … her now?  
>While Joseph removed the arrows from his wounds and while he disinfected and taped his wounds, he asked him:<br>_"Well … Mr. Gorman … what were your purposes? Why do you want to kill Cremia? I don't understand this …"_  
>But he didn't answer and looked at Joseph with a silent frown. The only sound he made was a <em>"hrmpf".<em>

_"Romani, come to me please"_ asked Joseph, which surprised everyone in the room.  
>Romani then stood in front of Gorman and Joseph stood behind her while holding her shoulders. <em>"Look into her eyes. This is the young ranch-sister with the name Romani. You do have a younger brother too, don't you? Can you imagine the life of your younger brother if we would kill you right now?"<em> said Joseph to him and Gorman looked deep into the eyes of Romani.  
><em>"Romani, can you imagine your life if you would lose your sister Cremia? To live alone at the ranch, to have nobody that would make you awesome food and …"<em> said Joseph to Romani.

After a few seconds of pure silence, Romani's eyes watered … and a tear felt down her cheeks. Then Romani looked to the ground … because … imaging a live without her sister … that would be too cruel. The eyes of the older Gorman Brother watered too, because the view of Romani's painful imagination hurt him too. The younger Gorman Brother would face a similar destiny if his older brother would be killed.

Joseph dispensed the Gorman from the rope, opened the house-door and said:  
><em>"Now go. Go home to your young brother … and think twice if you want to ruin somebody's life."<em>  
>Gorman stood up and walked home but before he left the house, he turned, looked into Josephs eyes with a sad face and said:<br>_"Th … Thank you …"_

After Gorman left, Joseph turned to Link and the ranch-sisters, who looked at him with surprised eyes_. "Now I need some time to think too …"_ said Joseph and left the house as well …

**- End of Chapter 13 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__Finally I finished the colored cover-image yesterday. I am not so good at drawing people but I hope you like it ;)_

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	14. Romani's Birthday

_**Notes from the Author:**__ Chapter 14 – here we go. This chapter was sponsored by the energy that came from electronic music and symphonic metal :D._

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 14: Romani's Birthday -**

**Romani Ranch – About 7:00 PM:**

After Joseph left the house as well, he walked up the grassy hill, where they chased the Gormans before. This hill was a nice place to think about … well … to think about what just happened at this moment. Why did Joseph prevent the execution of Gorman? He was angry at him as well and … he promised Cremia the day after Anju and he rescued her from the first Gorman attack that "something painful" will happen to them if they dare to attack her again. So why did he save the older Gorman?

Gut feelings are weird. First they told him that he shouldn't comfort Cremia while she was crying before the wedding and now they told him to save the life of one of Cremia's arch enemies. But why?  
>Why did he do such illogical things and did not listen to his brain instead? Hmmm …<br>But soon Joseph remembered that one sentence that he'd heard in physics once.  
><em>"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"<em> said Isaac Newton once.

Could it be that these actions, guided by his gut-feelings, changed something in a good way?  
><em>"Hmmm … well … I don't get this but … I guess time will show me …"<em> said Joseph to himself and didn't recognize that his new friends stood a few meters behind him.

"_What will time show to you, Blueberry?"_ asked Romani in a curious voice. Fortunately she wasn't angry anymore and talked in her usual cute style again.  
><em>"Oh … uhm … sorry, I didn't know … that you are …"<em> answered Joseph but got interrupted by Cremia because she said to Romani and Link:  
><em>"You two go back to the house. I want to talk to Joseph … alone".<em>

Romani exhaled again because she wanted to know what's up with Joseph too but she had to listen to her older sister. _"But … but … argh … yes sis …"_ answered Romani, grabbed Link's hand and ran with him together back to the house.

After only Cremia and Joseph were left, they stood together on the grassy hill and looked up to the clear and beautiful sky full of stars. Joseph had never seen such a clear sky before. Living in a city creates a lot of light-pollution over the skies of Europe for sure. Termina neither had such big cities; nor had Termina electricity to create such a big amount of light.

"_Joseph … I … uhm …"_ began Cremia in the hope she could ask him why he defended the Gorman.  
><em>"Cremia, I can't explain it properly but I have a strange feeling that he will be important soon. I know this sounds very paradox to you because he tried to kill you twice but … but … argh …"<em> interrupted Joseph and tried to explain his action.

"_His … well … his death won't change anything at all. In … in the world where I am from, I think enough blood has been shed already over the history for senseless reasons. Slavery, battles for religious beliefs and two world-wide wars that killed millions and millions of people just to mention a few … and everything just to satisfy the greedy intentions of a few … I … I just don't want to see the death of people. Why can't we all just … live together in peace … like we do on the ranch … why is that so difficult? Time and chronology already show us how all should be and …"_ said Joseph and looked to the ground because such thoughts made him slightly sad.

"_I don't understand it either, Joseph. But … afterwards … I really have to say thank you. If we had listened to our raging minds before, we would have been in a lot of trouble afterwards"  
><em>answered Cremia and made Joseph warm and fuzzy inside again because she gave him a lovely hug.  
><em>"Hmmm … now … now I understand why I did this I guess … Newton was right …"<em> whispered Joseph behind Cremia's head.  
><em>"Who's Newton?"<em> asked Cremia. Joseph laughed slightly and simply answered with:  
><em>"Not so important, Cremia. Not so important …"<em>

Soon both went back to the house, Cremia made some tasty dinner afterwards with the new and fresh food supplies from Clock-Town while the others played some rounds of "Dancing Rancher" again.  
>Afterwards, Cremia talked to Joseph and Link to sleep in their own beds again, which Romani disagreed with but … well … she had to listen to her sister again.<br>After an exciting day full of stress and emotions, our four heroes and heroines went to bed and felt asleep.

**Romani Ranch – Five days later in the early morning:**

Five days passed by and nothing really exciting happened in these days. A lot of work was done again. Joseph and Link even went back to the library in the Stock Pot Inn after the work was done and tried to answer their questions about how they came to Termina again … but unfortunately without bigger conclusions.

But what's so special about this day? Why is the Author of the FanFiction writing about this day and put the person, who is reading this sentence right now, on the rack? Oh right, it was a special day for one of our four protagonists. In this early morning, everybody was already awake … well … except for Romani, who was still sleeping because of the hard archery training yesterday.  
>But soon Romani opened her eyes and saw her sister, Blueberry and Grasshopper standing next to her bed.<p>

"_Uhm … good morning … what's up? Why is everyone looking at Romani?"_ asked Romani and looked at them with confusion and some sleepiness.  
><em>"Romani … today is a very special day. Because you have birthday today!"<em> said Cremia to her sister, who forgot that she had birthday today because of the exciting last weeks.  
><em>"Oh right … I nearly forgot that …"<em>answered Romani and began to laugh.

"_Happy birthday, Romani!" _said Link, Joseph and Cremia at the same time and Romani blushed because she wasn't used to so much attention.  
><em>"I have a special present for you, Romani!"<em> said Cremia to her and made her sister very curious.

"_Today … we will drive to Great Bay today!"_ This special present changed Romani from sleepy to highly-energized again and she jumped all around the bedroom while screaming _"wohoo!"_ joyfully.

After the tasty breakfast and preparing the wagon, all four drove to Great Bay. Romani, Link and Joseph were sitting at the backside again and played "Dancing Rancher" again while Cremia was sitting at the front and watched out for the streets. Cremia knew that this present will make Romani very happy because she'd never seen Great Bay before and only heard several stories from the Bomber-Kids before while she and her Grasshopper were playing on the playground.

Joseph was making some bad jokes to make everyone laugh.  
><em>"How to you call a boomerang that won't return?"<em> asked Joseph and everyone thought what could be the answer.  
><em>"I don't know the answer"<em> said Link because his boomerang always returned. The other ones didn't know the answer either and looked at Joseph with expectancy again.  
><em>"A stick …"<em> said Joseph and began to laugh and everyone else began to laugh, not because of the answer itself but how bad the joke was in its whole.  
><em>"Ba haha ha … ha … a stick … uhm … well … okay …"<em> said Joseph and even Cremia laughed because of the bad jokes.

After some rounds of "Dancing Rancher" and several bad jokes, our four protagonists arrived at Great Bay. Not only Romani was very impressed by the beauty of the ocean … Joseph was also fascinated. He'd never been to the ocean since he was born. The beauty of nature was wonderful for our Redleaf and our Blueberry. Cremia and Link liked Great Bay too but they already knew the bay … particularly Link, who also knew Great Bay Temple better than no one else.

After both of them lay down on some towels that Cremia brought to Great Bay as well, they enjoyed the heat of the sun, enjoyed the salty breeze and now even Cremia joined in playing Romani's Card Game.

"_What about a nice swim? Do you have some bikinis and swimming pants?"_ asked Joseph the others but the girls looked back confused.  
><em>"What's a bikini?"<em> asked Romani and Joseph looked back even more confused.  
><em>"Well … uhm … a Bikini is like a bra and panties for swimming. Girls and women use it to swim in pools or in the ocean … well at least in my world. Is there no such thing in Termina?"<em>

"_Well … uhm … no … there is no … such thing here … hehehe …" _said Cremia and blushed. Imaging Link and Joseph seeing her in bra and panties would be too awkward for Cremia. Even though Cremia had a very beautiful body, she was very shy about showing herself like that.  
><em>"Hmmm okay"<em> answered Joseph and they continued playing.

On the late afternoon, Romani asked Cremia if they could ride to Clock Town. At Anju's wedding, Romani saw a nice pendant at the market in western Clock-Town before and wanted to buy it. Cremia was okay with that and they decided to drive towards Clock-Town.  
>After they arrived and parked the wagon in the north-eastern field of Termina as always, Cremia searched for her bag with rupees. Strange, somehow it was missing. She searched for the bag and tried to remember where she left it the last time.<p>

"_You can already go to the market, I will come later. I need to find the bag first"_ said Cremia to her sister and her two friends, who went to Clock-Town meanwhile.  
>This time Clock-Town wasn't so filled with people; maybe because there was no wedding or bigger party at the moment. So walking through the town was easier than before because the massive crowd was missing.<p>

The pendant was still for sale, which made Romani quite happy. It looked like the pendant from Kafei, but it was red instead of yellow-blue, which was Romani's favorite color. It costs about 50 rupees, which was quite a lot.  
><em>"Where is Cremia?"<em> asked Link. This was a good question, because Grasshopper, Blueberry and Redleaf waited for about fifteen minutes for her.  
><em>"It can't take her for so long to just grab her bag …"<em> said Joseph and everyone looked at each other in a worried way. Maybe it would be the best idea to take a look and search her.

So our three heroes went back to the east of Clock-Town and left the town through the eastern Gate. They saw the carriage but no Cremia. Maybe she was still in the back of the carriage, so everyone came closer to the wagon. Oh no … what the …?!  
>Cremia's horse lay on the ground … and the ground had a large red stain on it … oh no … blood?<br>Was … was the horse dead? Link came closer to the Horse and checked if it will react to his touch. But no reaction … the horse … Cremia's only and precious horse was … dead.

"_Oh no … this smells like trouble"_ said Joseph in a nervous and sarcastic voice.  
>Where was Cremia? She wasn't at the wagon either. Did the Gormans attack her again?<br>Romani screamed _"SISTER!"_ as loud as she can. Not her sister again … not … on her birthday … just … why always her?  
>Link searched the wagon and found something … something that shouldn't be there.<p>

"_Joseph, Romani, I've found something!"_ said Link and held something like a letter in his hands with the symbol of a skull on it. Link opened it and saw a threatening message in it.  
><em>"What does it say, Grasshopper? I … well … Romani can't read …"<em> said Romani, which surprised Joseph, who can't read it either but only because this language is unknown to him. So Link had to read it out loud for them:

_"To the boy in green: We, the Gerudo-Pirates, will await you in our hideout. You took a treasure from us, so we took something from you as well. If you want to ever see her alive again, you must give us our Hookshot back and at least 5.000 rupees as compensation. You have three days. If you cannot pay us until the night of the third day is over, we will execute your stinking friend"._

This message was really disturbing. If this is true … then Cremia is in trouble … big trouble to be exact.  
>Romani looked into Link's eyes and began to weep bitterly.<br>_"Why always sister? Why does everyone hate her so much?"_ asked Romani while she cried a lot.  
>Link gave Romani a hug in the hope to comfort her. While they hugged, Joseph and Link looked at each other and both gulped.<p>

What can our Grasshopper, Redleaf and Blueberry do in this tricky situation?

**- End of Chapter 14 -**

_**Notes from the Author:  
><strong>__Roses are red, violets are blue.  
>Thank you, you read that, because I like you!<br>(Ok sorry, that was bad … I apologize!)_

One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes.

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	15. Pirates of the Great Bay - Part I

_**Notes from the Author:**__ I thought it's time for another action-scene – this time it's even split up in three parts as well. Since "chapter 2 – the forest of nope" was no bigger action anymore, so be prepared for way more adventure in future chapters! :P_

_EDIT: I rewrote some parts of this chapter to describe the situations better and while I was in the casino, I've checked the chapter for mistakes … and I fixed them as well :P.  
>I've also added the part where Romani, Link and Joseph are in Clock-Town in this chapter because I wanted to describe their situation in Part II more accurately. <em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 15: Pirates of the Great Bay - Part I -**

**North-Eastern Termina-Field – About 3:40 PM:**

On this late afternoon, Romani was still crying and Link hugged her, because he hoped this might help her in this tricky situation. Link and Joseph looked at each other and thought what they could do …  
><em>"We … we have to free her … no doubt"<em> said Joseph and quoted Captain Obvious.  
><em>"But … how?"<em> asked Joseph his friend Link, who was without a plan too.

Romani asked:_ "Gr-Grasshopper?"_ in an extremely sad voice. Link moved one or two steps away from her, to see her face but he still held Romani's shoulders to be connected with her.  
><em>"Where are these … pirates?"<em> asked Romani and Link answered her with: _"Uhm … at the Great Bay. Why do you ask?"_  
>Suddenly Romani took a deep breath, moved Link's arms away from her shoulders and began to run towards Great Bay as fast as she could … and we all know Romani's nickname isn't called Redleaf for no reason at all … so she was way faster than Link and Joseph, who ran after her.<p>

"_Romani … wait!"_ shouted Link … but she didn't stop. Soon Link remembered something useful that he'd found in Termina once … yes, the Bunny Hood could probably overtake Romani. So he grabbed in his magic bag that contained all items he had found here in Termina. He grabbed the Bunny Hood, put it on his head and moved twice as fast.

"_What the heck …?!"_ asked Joseph himself, because the sudden acceleration of Link impressed him. How could he walk way faster just because of some bunny ears? While running and gasping, Joseph began to think for a physical explanation but … uhm … ah well … fuck it! The lives of Romani and Cremia were way more important than physics and mathematics at this moment.

After about ten minutes of exhausting running, all three arrived at Great Bay. Link and Romani were, of course, way faster than Joseph and both were standing in front of the beach. Well … Romani kneed down in the white sand and began to cry again while Joseph ran after them. After, the already heavily-breathing, Joseph arrived, all three were together again. Link put his left hand on Romani's right shoulder while Joseph put his right hand on her left shoulder.

Was Cremia lost forever? Was this the end for our lovely redheaded rancher, who acts so reasonable and works so hard for a woman her age? The lovely women, who gave our two young men a new home … was she killed for no reason? Five minutes of pure sorrow passed by and the sun was slowly setting … together will all hopes of Romani.  
><em>"No … please … this can't be … Romani wants to rescue sister so much … but … but … Romani can't swim … I've never learned to swim … Romani can't swim and Romani can't read … Romani is good for nothing …"<em> said Romani and broke the silence in the longest and most depressing five minutes ever.  
>Link and Joseph looked at each other while they tried to comfort Romani.<p>

"_Don't say something like that. You're one of the loveliest people I've ever met, Romani. You invented a card game by yourself … and you are an amazing archer … and you are very clever"_ answered Joseph and tried to comfort her.  
><em>"He's right, Romani. Since I came to Termina … and after I met you … I always had a good friend in Termina. I came to Termina to search for a friend and … I … I have found that friend … her name is Romani"<em> answered Link. The constructive words from Joseph and Link helped her slowly smiling again.  
><em>"Th-Thank you … thank you my Grasshopper … and thank you my Blueberry … I … I am glad that you are here"<em> answered Romani and everyone hugged together in the bright orange sunset.

"_Romani, we will rescue your sister together, we will promise you. But we shouldn't rush into things … that would be very unreasonable and dangerous. It is written that we have three days … isn't it? We should use these three days and think about a plan to rescue her"_ said Joseph.  
><em>"He's right Romani. There must be another way into the pirates-fortress … somewhere … where we don't have to swim"<em> said Link.

After a few seconds of silence, Link had an idea: _"I think it would be the best to go back to Clock-Town … and ask for a map and some equipment"_. This reasonable suggestion made Joseph smile because he thought about the same.  
><em>"Okay Grasshopper. Well … maybe Anju can help us"<em> answered Romani.  
>Joseph rolled his eyes and thought: <em>"Oh god, not the Stock Pot Inn again …"<br>_But Anju helped him once and maybe she … and perhaps Kafei as well ... could help them again, so our Redleaf, Grasshopper and Blueberry ran towards Clock-Town while the sun disappeared in the horizon.

**Meanwhile in the Pirates-Hideout – About 4:15 PM:**

Cremia slowly began to open her eyes … it seemed like she lost her consciousness … these pirates knocked her out before, so she won't remember the way to the fortress.  
><em>"Ouch … uuuh … whe … where am I?"<em> asked Cremia and saw that she was dragged by two red-haired women, whose mouths were veiled by a purple cloth.  
><em>"What are you doing?!"<em> asked Cremia and tried to shake them off … but without success.

"_Ouch!"_ said Cremia painfully because the two mysterious pirate-women suddenly threw her to the floor with her face on the carpet. Cremia tried to stand up … but got pushed back to the ground by the saber-sticks of the female pirate-soldiers.

"_Is this our bait for the boy?"_ suddenly asked a female voice_. "Affirmative, master"_ answered the left pirate-soldier.  
><em>"Then shackle her!"<em> ordered the mysterious voice again and the pirate-soldiers got a chair and some ropes to shackle Cremia like she did with the Gorman five days before.  
>After Cremia was shackled like she would be public enemy number one, she faced the person who ordered the whole time. It was a younger woman, maybe at the same age of Cremia, with beautiful and long red hair, which was bound together to a large ponytail. She wore wide red pants, a top that covered her breast and she wore jewels … well … a lot of jewels to be exact.<p>

"_Let me introduce myself. My name is Aveil. I am the leader of the Gerudo-Pirates in western Termina"_ said Aveil to her … well … let's call it "guest".  
><em>"I don't care who you are. Just tell me why did you bring me here and what do you want from me?"<em> answered Cremia in an angry and frustrated voice.  
><em>"I don't want anything from <em>_**you**__"_ answered Aveil and added _"I only need you to attract a too unabashed and too curious young boy in green, whom you helped the last days"._

Then Aveil turned to the soldiers that were standing next (left and right) to Cremia, smiled and said:  
><em>"If the boy won't show up after the third night … you can kill her … slowly if you want. I have no other use for her" <em>

Cremia gulped and looked at Aveil with fear … she knew for sure how to make someone fearing the death.

**Meanwhile in Clock-Town – About 5:30 PM:**

While darkness filled the wide lands of Termina, Romani, Link and Joseph arrived in Clock-Town and immediately rushed to the Stock Pot Inn. Meanwhile Anju was standing behind her desk … as always … and didn't thought about that she might be a very important person this evening … again.  
>But the peaceful live at the Inn soon got broken by a loud <strong>*boom*<strong>.

Anju got scared by that because … well … it is not an everyday-thing that three young people rush through the door.  
><em>"Anju … *gasp* … we … we need your help again …"<em> said Joseph to her in an exhausted and gasping voice. Romani looked into Anju's eyes and it didn't go without notice that Romani was weeping.  
>Several tears flowed down her cheeks. Romani wasn't even able to talk properly … the only thing that made it out of her mouth was a silent <em>"… please … help …"<em>

"_In the name of Farore … what happened to you three?!"_ asked Anju, who was very disturbed and shocked at this moment … understandably.  
>Link then gave her the letter that the pirates left at the wagon. After some seconds of reading, Anju held her hand in front of her shocked mouth. She couldn't believe what was written on this letter … really … this sounded like a bad joke to her but … it was true … she had to face the truth that her best friend Cremia was in trouble … big trouble … again.<p>

"_I … I … wow … this is just … disturbing. Thank you very much … for telling me that Cremia is in danger but … how can I even help you?"_ asked Anju.  
><em>"Do you have a big map of Termina in the library?"<em> asked Link and Anju answered with:  
><em>"I … uhm … well yes … I guess so …"<em>

All four went to the library of Stock Pot Inn and Anju immediately searched for a map. Whew … thanks heaven her grandmother bought one a few weeks ago from Tingle for … uhm … well … for unknown reasons. The map was very actual … and big. Thanks heaven again they could see every detail on it. Link, Romani, Joseph and Anju immediately began to search the map.

"_Great Bay is there, so the fortress must be … ah there it is!"_ said Link while he pointed his finger on the map. Well … it didn't look good for them. There was no other way.  
><em>"Damnit!"<em> shouted Link and Romani's eyes began to water again. Anju kneed down and gave her a lovely hug in the hope she could comfort her. Joseph still stood next to the map and looked at the pirates-fortress on the map.  
>Ten minutes of silence, sorrow and hopelessness passed by again. The longest ten minutes you (yes you, the reader) could ever imagine.<p>

But soon Joseph had a similar feeling again. Oh no, not this gut feeling again. But this time it was nothing in a pure emergency, because they had some time to think. This time his brain worked together with his guts. Joseph looked closer to the map and saw something very interesting …

"_What if … what if we go there?"_ said Joseph to the others and pointed at the mountains. The others turned to Joseph and looked at him in confusion. The pirate fortress was in Great-Bay and not in the Snowhead-Mountains.  
><em>"You see this? There is something like a small path over there"<em> said Joseph and pointed to the mountain-village (the place where the mountain smithy is). Joseph was right. On the left side was a waterfall … and if there is a waterfall … then there must be a river too. This logic was right; on the map was a river that heads to the west of Termina … and it was not so far away from the pirate-fortress. Maybe if they climb up next to the waterfall and follow the river, there might be a path to the fortress through the mountains.

Anju, Link, Joseph and Romani looked at each other and thought together about a very sophisticated and clever strategy …

**- End of Chapter 15 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__Waminaliwamilalilasimina … eeeh Macarena! (Sorry, my head hit the keyboard, I apologize for that)._

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	16. Pirates of the Great Bay - Part II

_**Notes from the Author:**_

_IMPORTANT: I rewrote some parts of chapter 15 yesterday to describe the situations better.  
>I've also added the part where Romani, Link and Joseph are in Clock-Town in chapter 15 because I wanted to describe their situation in Part II more accurately. So if you read chapter 15 yesterday (13.02.15), I would recommend you to read it again.<em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 16: Pirates of the Great Bay - Part II -**

**Clock-Town (Stock Pot Inn) – About 6:10 PM:**

"_But … but I can't let you go … you … because you are way too young to go on such a dangerous mission …"_ said Anju to the others after they decided to go through the icy mountains.  
><em>"But Anju … we … we must save Cremia. We can't let her suffer just because we are too young"<em> answered Link to her in a disappointed voice.

But suddenly an unknown voice interrupted the discussion and said to them:  
><em>"You are very young indeed …"<em>  
>Everyone turned to the library-door, where the voice came from. It was the adult form of Kafei, who had heard every single word of their intention. Romani's mien turned to sad again because even Kafei seemed to be against their, indeed dangerous, mission.<p>

Then something unexpected happened. Kafei turned to Anju and our three heroes and began a new sentence with: _"… but …"  
>"Even though you are very young, you three are all very courageous and brave"<em> said Kafei to them, and lit a glimmer of hope in our heroes again.

"_Kafei … are you serious? The pirates are … very dangerous … and even the mountains are dangerous. They are … so cold and icy and … sometimes it has so deep abysses, you can't even see the ground …"_ answered Anju in the hope to dissuade Kafei from sending them to the mission.  
><em>"Anju, I can understand your worries very well. But look at them. Romani … she is one heck of a brave and clever girl … and her archery skills are amazing. Do you remember them when we were at the Ranch once? I believe Romani can defend herself very well"<em> answered Kafei, turned to Romani and Romani began to smile again.

Then Kafei turned to Link and said: _"If Link wouldn't have come to Termina, we wouldn't be together now, Anju. When Link and I fought in Sakon's hideout together against the greedy thief, I saw that Link is probably the most courageous young man in the whole world"_. These words made Link smile as well.

"_And Anju … Joseph already saved Cremia once. He suddenly came into this land and was probably confused as hell. He had a lot of questions and tried to understand our culture … but helping a stranger, who is in danger, was way more important to him than searching for answers"_ said Kafei to Anju and turned to Joseph as well. This caused Anju to take a deep breath and think about his words.

"_Romani will take care for herself … and Romani will take care of Grasshopper and Blueberry as well. We will free sister together!"_ said Romani to Anju and Kafei.  
><em>"Thank you Kafei. We won't let Cremia hanging. She … uhm well … she is like the mother I've never had and … I will always fight for the ones I love"<em> said Link to Anju and Kafei.  
><em>"I am not the greatest fighter but … I will take care of Romani and Link like they would be my own children. I can read maps very well and my orientation is good too. Maybe that will help"<em> said Joseph to Anju and Kafei while holding one shoulder of Romani and Link each.  
>It was done. The mission was decided and everyone was intended to save Cremia.<p>

Anju and Kafei then gave our Redleaf, Grasshopper and Blueberry a lot of useful equipment. Everyone got warmer clothes from Anju because the mountains were still icy, even though spring came to the mountains because of Link's help. Kafei asked his father, the mayor of Clock-Town, for arrows, so Romani and Link will have full ammunition for the mission.  
>Anju gave Joseph a tent and several blankets because it was very clear that they will have to sleep in the mountains at least once. Also Anju gave Joseph the map of Termina and better shoes … because white sneakers are not very suitable for icy and rocky ground.<br>Joseph gave Anju his Smartphone and his wallet in return because … well … if he had to swim, both things wouldn't take damage … and his Smartphone-battery was empty, so it was useless anyway right now.  
>Meanwhile Link ran to the potion shop in Clock-Town and purchased a few red potions. Link also purchased a compass and some big backpacks. After our heroes were equipped and got a (not very tasty) meal from Anju, they left Clock-Town through the northern entrance and stood in front of the big, icy and dangerous mountains.<p>

"_May the goddesses be on our side today"_ said Link to himself.  
><em>"Sister, we are coming now! Please hang in there!"<em> said Romani to herself as well.  
><em>"I really really <em>_**really**__ hope that my climbing skills aren't bad …"_ said Joseph to himself as well.  
>After the prayers of our three heroes, they began to run towards the mountains to their first station … to "Mountain Village".<p>

**Meanwhile in the Pirate-Fortress – About 9:50 PM:**

Cremia was still shackled to the chair. The bait for the young boy in green sat in Aveil's throne room, protected by a lot of female Gerudo-soldiers … and by Aveil herself. Cremia looked at Aveil in a nervous and angry mood and asked her … well … let's call it "host".:

"_What exactly do you want from that boy? He … he is just a boy … what damage could a little boy like him do to you?"_  
>Soon Aveil moved to Cremia until she stood in front of her. She held Cremia's jaw, squeezed it, looked into her eyes and answered Cremia's question angrily:<br>_"Are you stupid or something? This "little and innocent" boy, like you call him, burgled into our fortress, knocked out some of our guards and stole some of our most precious treasures like the Zora-Eggs and the Hookshot. He is not that innocent, you know? He has to feel my revenge very soon. Unless he will show up soon … you will feel my revenge. It doesn't matter if he will show up or not, I will have my fun with you"_

After her sadist answer, Aveil began to laugh loud and gave Cremia a slap … for no reason and just for fun. Aveil can't wait to make her victim scream like she never did before with any victim.

**Mountain Village – About 11:30 PM:**

After a few hours of exhausting running and facing the cold of the mountains, our three young heroes arrived in the Mountain Village very soon. The weather changed, after the sunset at the beach, from a clear sky to a very cloudy and windy weather very quickly.  
><em>"I guess the weather won't be on our side tonight"<em> said Link to the other two.  
><em>"Brrr … it is s-so c-c-cold …"<em> answered Romani while trembling a lot.  
><em>"Let's go inside that building over there. Maybe we can warm up and plan our next steps in there"<em> said Joseph and pointed at the mountain smithy.

After they arrived, Joseph tried to open the door but … oh no … it was locked. Probably no one was at home.  
><em>"Damnit!"<em> shouted Joseph and punched against the door. Our three heroes were really without luck this night because the cold wind became stronger and stronger and … oh no … snowflakes. It looked like a blizzard will freeze this land … and our three heroes … to the death this night.  
><em>"Oh no … this blizzard means a lot of business tonight" <em>said Link to Joseph, who walked around the smithy to search for a wind-free zone.

The south-eastern wall of the smithy created a good and wind-free zone. In this zone, Joseph put his map out and searched for the waterfall and the river that will lead them to the pirate-hideout.  
><em>"Okay my friends, if that building next to us is the mountain smithy, then we are … here. Therefore the waterfall must be right over … there!"<em> shouted Joseph because the icy wind was very loud. After he pointed on the map to show them their location, he pointed to the western wall of the mountain village, where the waterfall should be … and there was a waterfall … well … a frozen one to be exact.

"_B-But how c-can we c-climb up there? Is t-this even p-p-possible while this c-cold wind is b-b-blowing?"_ asked our trembling and freezing Romani. Her worries were indeed valid. It was nearly impossible to climb up the icy walls next to the waterfall while there's blowing such an icy wind.  
><em>"You're right, Romani. We shouldn't climb up there unless we want to risk that someone might fall"<em> answered Joseph.

Joseph thought about what they could do at this moment. After a few seconds he doffed his brown coat that he got from Anju and wrapped Romani in it to give her a break from the cold temperature in the mountains.  
><em>"W-what are you d-doing, B-Blueberry?"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"Please wait here and warm yourself up a bit. Link and I will take a look at the wall to search for a way up. Maybe we can see something useful through this goddamn blizzard"<em> said Joseph to her.  
><em>"O-Okay. Thanks G-Grasshopper and B-B-Blueberry"<em> answered Romani and enjoyed the warmth in the wind-free zone.

Link and Joseph walked to the nearly frozen waterfall, tried to stand still in the strong and cold wind and looked up the walls.  
><em>"Can you see something?"<em> asked Joseph his friend Link.  
><em>"I am sorry, no" <em>was his unfortunate answer.  
>Joseph walked up and down the frozen lake and searched and searched and searched … but found nothing useful.<p>

"_This doesn't look good, Link. Nothing but sharp rocks, snow, ice and some thick branches on the upper walls … nothing where we can climb up"_ answered the also trembling and already freezing Joseph, who shook his head.  
>But Link wasn't hopeless at this moment, because he suddenly had a simple but very effective idea.<br>_"Thicker branches?! You said thicker branches, didn't you?"_ asked Link. Joseph nodded to his question.  
><em>"Go and get Romani. I have an idea that might bring us up there"<em> said Link to Joseph, who looked at him surprised, confused and with hope again_. "Okay, I will get her"_ was his answer.

"_Come Romani let's go! Link has an idea"_ said Joseph to her. Romani gave him his coat back because now he was trembling a lot_. "Thank you so much, Blueberry. Now Romani feels warm again"_ said Romani to him with a lovely smile. Both then went to Link with a lot of curiosity. What was the plan of the young boy in green?

"_Okay, here we are now. What's the plan, Grasshopper?"_ asked Romani.  
><em>"Please trust me and hug me as strong as you can"<em> answered Link and grabbed in his magic item bag.  
>He put an orange-yellow item out of it and held it towards one of the branches. Yes, it was the Hookshot. Maybe the Hookshot can drag Link and one other person together up the walls.<p>

"_I want to hug Grasshopper first!"_ said Romani and hugged him as hard as she could. This caused Link to blush and feel warm and fuzzy inside again … which warmed both in this cold and bitter times.  
><em>"Okay Romani … uhm … please hold me as strong as you can and don't be scared. We will soon fly up the walls very fast, so I need you to hold me"<em> instructed Link and shot his Hookshot after he counted down from five to zero.

Romani and Link flew up together to the branch very fast … and luckily everyone was okay. Link grabbed the branch and dragged Romani up the branch. Whew … finally … at least Romani and Link were standing up the walls. Joseph's eyes and his mouth were widely open again.  
><em>"The fuck is this kind of physics? How is this even possible? Shouldn't his arm be broken or … well … argh …"<em> asked Joseph himself and got surprised by the illogical physics of Termina again. He shook his head because he cannot make head or tail of this physics. Weird … very weird … but now it wasn't the right time for physics, mathematics and biology again. He had to come up the cliff as well.

Link slid down the, already frozen, waterfall and did the same with Joseph. The feeling to fly with Link and his small thing called Hookshot was weird, very weird. But however, soon all three were up the waterfall and looked in the direction of the, already frozen, river.  
><em>"Thank you Link. Finally we are up here. Well … let's take a look then"<em> said Joseph and looked around. There was a path that ended in a wide bend to the right. Between this path was … well … mountains, some trees and lots of snow. The path was very slippy … maybe because that path was the river that leaded to the waterfall. But the river was frozen which confused Joseph again.

How can a moving water source freeze at all and build a thick layer of ice on its surface? Well … uhm … ah never mind. Termina was very illogical for Joseph. But now it was time to follow this given path.  
><em>"Let's see. This river looks like a road at the moment, which might be useful for us. Well … at least something that gives us luck right now. I hope the path won't be covered by snow that much because we have to go … uhmmm … like this" <em>said Joseph to the others while pointing at the map, which fluttered a lot in the wind.

The river looked like a big bend to the right through the mountains and soon turned left after the path disappeared behind the mountains. After a longer walkway forward on the frozen river, the river splits up into two rivers in front of a big mountain, one of this rivers leads to Snowhead and the other one leads very close along the backside of the pirate-fortress.  
>But between the pirate-fortress and the river was a smaller mountain chain, so our heroes had to climb anyways.<p>

"_I really really __**really**__ hope that this ice is stable enough to carry us …" _said Joseph to himself.  
><em>"Please hang in there, sister! We will soon see you again … and free you!"<em> said Romani to herself.  
><em>"We should build up a tent very soon, otherwise we will freeze in this hell …"<em> said Link to himself.

Joseph heard what Link said and agreed with him. A tent would be really useful now. Luckily Anju gave him a tent … but … well it was for two persons. Even though it's for two persons, it is better that all three sleep very close together for exchange of body-warmth.  
>Our three heroes began to walk along the river under freezing temperatures, icy winds that blew around their heads and froze their ears … and it was very dark too because it was already after midnight. But the two brave young men and the brave young woman withstood these ugly conditions and walked along the river until they saw the separation of the rivers.<p>

"_J-Joseph … it is s-so cold. W-we really should take a b-break and rest for the n-night"_ said Link to Joseph.  
><em>"R-R-Romani c-can't feel her f-feet and e-ears anymore …"<em> said Romani to the others.  
><em>"You're r-right. Let's search for a p-place, where we c-can b-b-build up our t-t-tent"<em> answered Joseph and agreed with Link's suggestion.

Our young heroes found something like a small chasm in the mountain, where the river splits up and moved inside that chasm. The chasm protected them from wind and snow. Joseph gave Romani his coat again while he built up the tent. The coat was even big enough to cover two persons, so Romani shared the coat with Link and cuddled with him meanwhile … which made both warm and fuzzy inside … and Link's heart beating again because … uhm … well he didn't know it either. Joseph, who was nearly freezing to the death, finished the tent and everyone crawled into their temporary home.

Finally a warm and soft place again … for at least a few hours … time to take a rest … and a break from the awful cold …

**- End of Chapter 16 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__Nothing to say in the footer-notes this time :P_

One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes.

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	17. Pirates of the Great Bay - Part III

_**Notes from the Author:**__ One thing to mention: My holidays will end tomorrow, so I can't promise you that I will write and upload one chapter per day anymore. But I'll try to write and upload as much as I can and I will make at least one chapter every two or three days. _

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 17: Pirates of the Great Bay - Part III -**

**In the mountains between Snowhead and the Pirate-Fortress – About 2:20 AM:**

"_Whew … f-finally a w-warm place again …"_ said Joseph to the others after they crawled inside Anju's tent.  
><em>"T-Thank you a l-lot, J-J-Joseph for the t-tent …"<em> answered Link to Josephs comment. Romani turned to him as well and said:  
><em>"Yeah, t-thanks a l-lot B-B-Blueberry …"<em>

Finally our three heroes had a warm and calmer place to sleep and to rest again. But the tent was a bit tight. _"Well … I think this means that we have to cuddle this night"_ said Joseph after they warmed up and began to laugh.  
><em>"I don't think this is a bad thing. Sleeping close to each other could help us to keep us warm"<em> answered Link to his comment. Then Romani turned to Link and said:  
><em>"Romani missed it a lot to sleep next to Grasshopper …"<em>

Link's cheeks blushed and he answered with:  
><em>"Uhm … yes I uhm … me too … I missed it too, Romani …"<em>  
>Everybody began to laugh because of his shy answer.<br>Soon, Romani remembered what Cremia told to her several days before and said: _"Romani still does not understand why sister didn't want me to sleep next to you, Grasshopper".  
><em>Joseph, who is a lot older than Link and Romani, had a guess why Cremia didn't want them to sleep next to each other … but he remained silent.  
><em>"… or why sister doesn't want to sleep next to Blueberry anymore …" <em>added Romani.

"_Oh … uhm … well … that's because uhm … that's because I am so tall and Cremia is tall too and … well … I don't want to take too much space from her in her bed"_ answered Joseph and blushed too.  
><em>"Then we will build a larger bed for you two after we rescued her"<em> answered Romani.  
><em>"Oh … uhm … yes. But you have to … uhm … ask her before you do that, okay?"<em> said Joseph and Romani nodded.

Joseph then immediately changed the topic and said:  
><em>"Let's sleep now. We have to be fit and concentrated tomorrow"<em> and everybody went to sleep … cuddling with each other until the morning dawned.

**Pirate-Fortress (Aveil's Throne-Room) – About 2:20 AM:**

While Aveil was planning their next steps for their biggest plan, Cremia woke up from a little nap. After Aveil "spoke" with Cremia last time, she tried to sleep in this very uncomfortable position. Being shackled to a chair is not the most comfortable sleeping position, but she tried it anyways.

When Cremia slowly opened her eyes, she felt a lot of pain in her neck because she couldn't rest her head anywhere, so she had to rest it on her left shoulder. _"Ouch …"_ said Cremia silently and looked around. Aveil and the Gerudo-Pirates built up a large table with a big map on it. She talked to high-ranking officers about their possibly biggest raid against the Zoras … in the middle of the night.

But soon Aveil recognized Cremia's awakening, turned to her and said:  
><em>"It looks like our … guest … woke up".<em>  
>Aveil walked in front of Cremia, squeezed her jaw again and said:<br>_"I can't wait until I can have my fun with you … or this cheeky boy. Hmmm … or perhaps with your little sister …"_

"_Oh my … please no … not my sister. You can do whatever you want with me but please don't hurt my sister …"_ said Cremia to her in a fearful voice.  
><em>"Ah no, maybe not your sister … I know someone better … what about your boyfriend?"<em> asked Aveil in a sadist voice.  
><em>"M-my boyfriend? I … uhm … I don't have a b-boyfriend …"<em> answered Cremia.  
>Aveil slapped Cremia again and shouted:<br>_"Don't lie to me! The one with those beautiful round ears and the weird blue clothes"_  
><em>"J-Joseph is not my boyfriend … he is … well … a very g-good friend … but we are not t-together …"<em> answered Cremia in a nervous voice.

"_Aha, Joseph is his name. Good to know. Well, as you know, we Gerudo have round ears … and we consider people with round ears as beautiful. The rest of him looks pretty as well, so I will take him if you don't mind ..." _said a grinning Aveil to Cremia, who felt very weird at this moment because of Aveil's words … felt like a mix of anger, frustration and jealousy.

"_Don't touch him …"_ shouted Cremia to Aveil, who began to grin even more because of that.  
><em>"So you mind … hehehe … tell me, you like him, don't you?"<em> said Aveil to her.  
>Cremia gulped but remained silent. Aveil then grabbed Cremia's jaw again and moved her head left and right to check her out. Aveil grabbed Cremia's hair and felt it in her hands.<br>_"Hmmm, weird … you're quite beautiful for one of these ugly Terminans. Your hair feels soft and it's red. Are you a Gerudo? Or do you have Gerudo-roots?"  
><em>While Aveil asked a lot of questions about Cremia, she still remained silent. Why was Aveil so curious about Cremia's family tree at this moment?

_"It's very rare to see a Terminan with so beautiful and natural red hair so I believe you're a Gerudo too or that you have at least Gerudo-roots"_ said Aveil.  
><em>"Even if I have Gerudo-roots, I won't join you!"<em> answered Cremia.  
><em>"That's no problem. I will have my fun with you … or your friends anyways … no matter if you're Gerudo or not"<em> answered Aveil and began to laugh loud. Soon she turned back to her high-ranking officers and her plan again.

**In the mountains between Snowhead and the Pirate-Fortress again – About 8:50 AM:**

After our three heroes slept in the fissure, they slowly woke up again and felt warm and rested again.  
>Link was the first one who woke up. Romani was holding his arm and cuddled very close to him, while Joseph lay with his back to Link.<br>_"Romani, Joseph, wake up! We have to go!"_ said Link and shook Romani and Joseph with one hand each.

"_Oh … ouch … good morning … how … how late is it?"_ asked Joseph and slowly woke up.  
><em>"Just five more minutes, sis …"<em> said Romani … and Link shook her even more until she woke up too.

"_It's about nine o'clock in the morning. That's the right time to go ahead"_ said Link while looking at a Terminan pocket-watch (that he got from Anju as well) and everyone readied up. Joseph folded the tent to its origin form and Romani gave everyone some snacks that Kafei gave them before they headed to the mountains. Soon, after everyone was ready to go ahead, they moved out of the fissure and looked around. The wind calmed over night … but it's still snowing a lot … and you can't see 100 meters wide because of thick fog. Our heroes even had to dig their way out of the fissure for about five minutes, because the entrance was already covered by a taller snow-wall, but they made it out of the fissure and stood on the frozen river again, who already had a thick layer of snow on it as well.

The wind wasn't blowing anymore, so Joseph could take a look on the map without fearing it could blow away.  
><em>"We are … here. So we must walk about two and a half kilometers into this direction … over there!"<em> said Joseph to the others and pointed in direction of the left frozen river. The mountain, with the fissure in it, split the river in two smaller rivers, one river leads to Snowhead and the other one leads to a mountain-chain very close behind the pirate-fortress.

"_After the river makes some sharp bends, we have to walk for about 100 meters and climb up the smaller mountain chain. After we climb down on the other side, then there must be the Pirate Fortress … and hopefully something like a backdoor"_ instructed Joseph his two young friends.

After about three hours of walking, or stomping through the deep snow to say it more accurate, our heroes arrived at this point. The river made a sharp bend to the right and after 100 meters a sharp bend to the left … just like on the map. This was the evidence that our Redleaf, Grasshopper and Blueberry followed the right way.

"_I guess this is the right spot. So now we have to … uhm … climb up over … there. Please stay close together, so we won't lose ourselves on the mountain"_ said Joseph and pointed at the mountains to his left.  
><em>"I hope Romani can still climb as well as she did when she was younger"<em> said Romani to herself and remembered that she loved to climb on trees when she was between five and eight years old.  
><em>"We will climb up … we will enter the fortress … and we will free Cremia, I promise, Romani!"<em> said Link to Romani and everyone began to climb.

One rock, one step. Two rocks, two steps. Three rocks, three steps …  
>Rock by rock, step by step climbed our heroes the smaller mountain up and made it on its peak after about one hour of climbing, slipping and sweating.<p>

"_Wow … what a wonderful view!"_ said Romani to the others because they could see the wide ocean from the peak … and the pirate-fortress! Finally … our heroes managed it to see Great Bay again. But they didn't finish their mission yet. Now it was time to climb down the mountain, to enter the fortress and to save Cremia once again.

So our Redleaf, Grasshopper and Blueberry immediately began to climb down the mountain carefully … towards the Pirate-Fortress … and towards a lot of pain …

**- End of Chapter 17 -**

_**Notes from the Author:  
><strong>__  
>One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	18. Plan B

_**Notes from the Author:**__ As I said to you in the last chapter, I can only write and upload every 2 or 3 days, so this chapter came out later … but I will try my best to write and upload as much as possible ;)  
>For the future, I will also draw one picture for every chapter, upload it on DeviantArt and after I finished the picture, I will update the matching chapter as well by rewriting some parts of the chapter (to describe the situations better) and by correcting several mistakes of my bad English. <em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 18: Plan B -**

**Behind the pirates-fortress (in the mountains) – About 2:15 PM:**

"_Be careful, Redleaf!"_ said Link to Romani, because she nearly slipped and nearly fell down a bottomless abyss. This mountain-chain was more dangerous than Joseph, Romani and Link ever had thought before. Lots of sharp rocks, deep abysses and slippery ice … this was the mountain-chain that protected the back of the Gerudo-Fortress. The Gerudo were for sure not stupid to build their fortress between a dangerous mountain-chain and the wide, wide ocean. The mountains in Termina are a very dangerous place to walk through.  
>If the people didn't already die because of the awful and icy coldness, they also had to climb up the probably most dangerous rock in whole Termina, the frostbite-mountain chain.<p>

The mission of our three heroes was probably the most foolish rescue mission a person like you could ever imagine. Going through the mountains under freezing temperatures (usually between -24°C and -11°C), climbing up and down the frostbite-mountain chain, where you fall if you make one wrong step and if that wouldn't be enough, our heroes had to fight against a whole army of female pirates … in their own fortress to free one person … and after that … they either had to go the whole way back … or risk to get devoured by the waters of Great Bay.

But no danger impressed enough to let only one of our heroes to think about a possible turn. The life of Cremia was way more important than choking in the own cowardice. But our heroes faced any danger … and they made it. It only took about two and a half hours and a lot of attention to bring our heroes down to the backside of the pirates-fortress.

_"Thanks to the goddesses and their guardian angels that we made it so far …"_ said Link to Romani and Joseph, who were glad as well.  
><em>"True that. I am also glad that the backside doesn't seem to be protected by them …"<em> answered Joseph.  
><em>"Finally we are here to rescue sister … but … uhm … where's the entrance?"<em> asked Romani … and was right. There was no entrance at all … well … at least no visible entrance.

"_You're right, Romani. I don't see anything that looks like a door. Why can't they write a note that says "push here for secret entrance" in such missions for once?"_ said Joseph to the others.  
>But he and the others didn't give up and searched the tall and yellow-painted wall for a passage.<br>But it looked like there are only bricks and bricks and bricks … wet bricks to be exact, because our heroes had to climb down so far that it wasn't snowing but raining again … and it rained a lot.

"_Grasshopper, Blueberry, come here! Romani has found something!"_ shouted Romani to Link and Joseph. But Joseph was thinking about physics again. How was it possible that the temperature-difference between mountains and ocean is so large? These mountains aren't so much above the sea level and …

"_Blueberry! Stop thinking and come to Romani! Romani has found something interesting!"_ shouted Romani again and dragged Joseph's mind back to reality. She was right again, now it was the time to rescue Cremia and not for physics, mathematics and meteorology.  
>So Joseph ran to Romani and Link, who was already standing next to her.<p>

"_Looks like … an air vent?"_ asked Joseph, who was surprised again. So this rescue mission ended in the most cliché burglary ever. Climbing inside through an air vent and rescuing a woman.  
><em>"It looks like we are Mario, Cremia is Peach and these Pirates are Bowser"<em> said Joseph to mention his thoughts about this very stereotyped mission.  
><em>"What are you talking about, Joseph?"<em> asked Link.  
><em>"Uhm … nothing important … " <em>answered Joseph and laughed slightly. After that, everybody climbed inside the air vent and moved inside the fortress.

**Inside the pirates-fortress (Aveil's throne-room) – About 3:30 PM:**

Meanwhile Cremia was shackled as always since she was "invited" to the pirates. Aveil finished her plans on their possibly biggest pirate-raid since history and waited on her throne for the young boy in green. Aveil really feared Link for some reason. The boy used a lot of weak points of the fortress to burgle inside and steal from her treasures. Aveil's biggest fear is that other people steal from her. No one ever managed or even dared to steal from her and the pirates … but the boy did it … and she wanted him to feel her wrath for his action.

"_Come on! Where is this silly boy? I want him to feel pain … a lot of pain … for even daring to steal from me …"_ said Aveil to the others … or herself … or the shackled Cremia.  
>After her impatient question, Aveil stood up and walked in front of Cremia again.<br>_"It doesn't matter if the boy comes or not. I can have fun with you anyways but I want him to show up first … argh … this waiting is killing me …"_ said an impatient and angry Aveil to a nervous and fearful Cremia.

Aveil's impatience could be heard through her whole throne-room … which was somehow something good … because our heroes, who crawled though the air vent, heard in which direction they had to crawl because of Aveil. And after about two minutes, our Redleaf, Grasshopper and Blueberry saw the throne room … and Cremia! … and Aveil …

But our heroes had a big problem. Cremia was better protected than expected. Too many guardians were standing in the throne-room. Before they entered the pirate-fortress through the air-vent, our heroes had the plan to free Cremia in an either sneaky way … or by fighting against the guardians.  
><em>"Damn … we can't fight against so many of them!"<em> said Link to the others.  
><em>"But we can't give up now, Grasshopper! Sister must be rescued … otherwise she will …"<em> answered Romani and showed her sadness in her face.

Joseph didn't say anything while they thought of another plan. Instead he looked around and searched for other ways … and he found something. The air vent ended in a room that seems to be something like a … warehouse? So Joseph slowly crawled towards this room and said to the others:  
><em>"Link, Romani, I have a plan … I … uhm … please trust me, okay?"<em>  
>(Just to mention it: The warehouse is the place, where Link shoots the beehive in the game. ;))<p>

Romani and Link didn't know what Joseph had planned … but they had to trust him. He's adult enough to don't make stupid decisions … well … at least they hoped. Maybe the following wasn't his best idea … because his idea was to distract the guardians from the backside of the throne-room.  
>So Joseph left the warehouse, jumped down to the level of the throne-room entrance on the outside and entered it …<p>

"_Hello … good afternoon … hello …"_ said Joseph and waved with a smile to everyone while he walked towards Aveil and Cremia. The guardians already pointed their spears in his direction and Cremia looked with the same facial expression as Aveil did at this moment … in fact … they looked at him extremely surprised and with widely opened eyes. Didn't he saw that they threatened him with their spears?

Link and Romani, who were still waiting inside the air vent, looked at each other and asked themselves:  
><em>"What the heck is he doing?"<em>  
>This action was foolish … or was it?<p>

Aveil shook her head and wondered who this young and foolish … but beautiful … man was.  
><em>"And who are you then? Oh wait! Let me guess … you are the entertainer we ordered …"<em> asked Aveil to Joseph, who bow in front of her.  
><em>"Yep, that's me! Oh beautiful and dangerous queen of the oceans, with whom do I have the pleasure to speak?" <em>asked Joseph, who was still bowing in front of Aveil.

She held her hand in the air, which was a signal that the guardians can trust him … or something like that. She answered with: _"They call me Aveil, young man_" and asked him: _"With whom do I have the pleasure too?" _

"_My name is … Bond … James Bond"_ answered Joseph. Probably Aveil had heard his real name before, so he made sure that he said a wrong name. That's a name that might be well known in our pop-culture … but it was unknown in the wide lands of Termina.  
>Cremia, who was still surprised because of Joseph's sudden appearance, had to smile slightly because of his demeanor. Was Aveil really that easy to fool? Wait … oh … no, she wasn't … Cremia remembered that she mentioned Joseph and how he looks before … so he probably ran into her trap … and was fooled by her and not the other way round. Cremia's expression immediately changed back to nervous and fearful after she realized this.<p>

Was Joseph's action stupid as hell and will Aveil be his doom? Is this the end for Cremia and her possible rescue? And what can Romani and Link do instead of sitting in this dirty air vent all the time?

**- End of Chapter 18 -**

_**Notes from the Author:  
><strong>__  
>One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	19. Redhead vs Redhead

_**Notes from the Author: **Finally I finished Chapter 19. In the last days, I was quite busy, so I didn't have much time to continue with the chapter. But finally it is weekend, so I can upload one chapter on Saturday and Sunday as well! :)_

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 19: Redhead vs. Redhead -**

**Pirate-Fortress (Aveil's throne-room) – Late afternoon:**

"_Well then … Mr. Bond. If you're an entertainer, feel free to entertain me"_ said Aveil to her newest guest and sat back on her throne with great expectancy.  
>"<em>What does the great Aveil exactly wants to see or hear?"<em> asked Joseph because he didn't know exactly what he should do at this moment … he didn't want to make one false step in this tricky situation.  
><em>"I don't know … tell me some jokes or sing something … just entertain me somehow …"<em> answered Aveil.

"_Well then … uhm …"_ said Joseph and began to think about a song text or some jokes. He is not that good in singing … really … he isn't. But how about some jokes? Joseph could make Link, Romani and Cremia laugh all the time when they were playing "Dancing Rancher". Yes, let's try it with jokes. Hopefully this works.

"_How do you call a boomerang … which won't return?"_ asked Joseph his new host. Aveil began to think about the answer but the only thing that came back to our fearless hero in blue was a shrug and a confused glimpse.

"… _A stick"_ answered Joseph and grinned a lot in the hope that this extremely bad and overused joke would make Aveil laugh … and fortunately it did… after a few seconds.  
>His "stroke" worked … so it was time to give Romani and Link more time until they could think about a plan to free Cremia.<p>

Joseph was able to entertain Aveil and the other Gerudo-Guardians in the throne-room for about twenty more minutes … but this didn't help a lot because there were still a lot of guardians in the room. Joseph's original plan failed to lure them out of the room … or at least to distract them enough from Cremia … but he still tried and tried.

But suddenly … after twenty minutes of entertainment by using mainly bad jokes … Aveil stood up and moved in front of Joseph. What did she plan? Did she want to kill him too? Was this the end for the entertainment?  
><em>"Hmmm …"<em> said Aveil in front of him and … checked Joseph out while holding her chin.  
><em>"I … uhm … what's wrong?"<em> asked Joseph the mysterious and dangerous Redhead that stood one meter in front of him. But Aveil didn't answer … she only smiled and … suddenly kissed Joseph.

Joseph's eyes were opened widely while Aveil pressed his body to hers and while they kissed. What the heck just happened? Why did she kiss him all of the sudden? After a few seconds, Aveil moved back but still held Joseph. Then she moved her head next to Joseph's head … because she wanted to check his ears out. Oh … right. Round ears … Joseph had them too. Maybe Aveil was really interested in our hero in blue in various ways. Joseph disguised his face to a smile and thought: _"hehehe … well … I am so fucked …"_

Meanwhile Cremia had a very weird feeling. She was extremely angry at Aveil because of what she did. She snorted and looked at Aveil with an angry mien. Weird was the fact that Cremia was nervous and fearful before and Aveil changed that to pure anger and hate in just a few seconds. Cremia somehow couldn't understand why she was so angry at this moment … but she didn't philosophized about that like Joseph did sometimes … everything she wanted was to attack Aveil and let her feel a lot of pain.

"_I like you … Mr. Bond … or shall I call you … Joseph?"_ said Aveil and caused Joseph to change his smile to surprise and fear. Why did she know his real name? Now it was exactly the right time to get nervous … but not for our Joseph. He thought_:"Better play it cool"_ and answered with:  
><em>"Hmmm well yes. Some people call me Joseph. James Bond is my … uhm … name as entertainer" <em>answered Joseph in his coolest voice ... and tried to disguise his nervousness.  
><em>"Well then Joseph … I would like to have some … other kind of entertainment … with you but also with her …" <em>said Aveil to him and turned together with Joseph to Cremia because she was still holding him.

"_Oh really? Uhm … and … and what did you think about?"_ asked Joseph and Aveil answered with:  
><em>"I want to hurt her. I wanted to do that so much since she's my newest guest".<br>"Oh … uhm … well … A-Aveil … uhm … no I don't think that hurting her is so much fun. I would consider that as quite boring. Uhm … y-you said you want to have fun with me too? Do you want to h-hurt me too?" _asked Joseph.

Aveil looked into his eyes and smiled. "_No … I don't want to hurt you. I have … other plans … with you … hehehe. But first I will have my fun with __**her**__ …"_ said Aveil and ordered two guardians to Joseph, who held him, just to be sure he won't try stupid things. Cremia was still extremely angry at Aveil. That was perfect for Aveil because it increased the fun factor … well … at least from Aveil's point of view.  
>Aveil nodded to the guards that were standing behind Cremia. One of them released her fetters while two of them held Cremia's arms. After Cremia was free again, they forced her to stand up.<p>

Cremia tried to shake the guardians off but failed. Aveil smiled and walked towards Cremia … until she stood one meter in front of her like she did with Joseph before. Our two Redheads looked each other into their eyes … Aveil with joy and Cremia with anger and fear.  
>After the look-exchange, Aveil grabbed Cremia's jaw again and said to her: <em>"I waited so long for this … now my patience is gone … and I won't wait for any longer … you shall feel my revenge first"<br>_After the introducing words, Aveil gave Cremia one heck of a painful slap.

But the slap wasn't enough for her. She soon punched her in her stomach as well … four times … just for fun … well … from Aveil's point of view. Letting Cremia feel the pain and hear her screaming filled her with joy … our Aveil is a pure sadist indeed. But this beating wasn't only just for fun. There was a … bigger plan behind it. Sure it filled Aveil with joy, Joseph with fear and Cremia with pain … but there was some other reason for the beating.  
>Aveil guessed that the other ones like Cremia's sister and the infamous boy in green would be here too. This was a gut feeling of Aveil … and as we know … she was right with that guess … unfortunately.<p>

Soon Aveil ordered the guards, who held Cremia, to release her and let her fall to the ground, where she will get even more beats from her. A word and a blow, Cremia was released and fell to the ground. Cremia was huddling and could hardly breathe because of Aveil's punches. She had for sure a strong arm. But now it was not the time to give up. Cremia focused all her anger and tried to stand up … and she did. Cremia snorted and tried to give Aveil a punch straight in her face … but she dodged the attack. While dodging, Aveil grabbed the hair of Cremia, who was flying towards her because of her forceful punch, and dragged her back to the ground. After that Aveil punched Cremia in her face with the same power … and unfortunately … she hit.

This punch was the most painful of all and caused Cremia to bleed out of her nose. Even covering her face with her hands couldn't abate the pain much … it hurt so much that she screamed her soul out of her body. This view was painful for Joseph too, who is a quite empathic person. The beautiful and reasonable rancher that gave him, a stranger and foreigner, a new home in this still unknown world … lay on the ground because she was beaten by another but very sadistic redhead. Cremia really didn't deserve all this pain and suffering … really … she didn't. Cremia was one of the nicest persons that Joseph ever had met before. First she was attacked and cut in her leg by the Gorman-Brothers and now she was beaten by a pirate-queen. What a cruel world Termina was.  
>But the visible and physical pain wasn't the only pain that Cremia felt at this moment. The kiss … somehow it awakened old and painful feelings in Cremia's heart that she tried to choke before. It's a deep and painful feeling like loneliness and the feeling to lose a person even when the person is still alive …<p>

But this was Cremia's smallest problem at the moment because Aveil already hauled off to another punch … this time right into Cremia's stomach again. After Aveil hit, Cremia had to cover the hit place with her hands again … which was a mistake … because now her face was unprotected again … and this allowed Aveil to kick Cremia's beautiful face.  
>I have to correct myself: <strong>That<strong> was the most painful hit of all. Cremia screamed so much and so painfully, some guards even had to cover their ears sometimes.  
>The painful scream also released a lot of tears in Joseph's eyes. It made him so sad that she was beaten for no reason at all … but besides that, it made him even sadder that he was unable to react this time. That he didn't even have the chance to help her. Joseph was unable to do something … the guardians still held him. The situation was a no-win situation. Nothing in the world could save them right now …<p>

"_Siiister! Nooooo!"_ screamed a voice. Aveil and everyone else turned to the right of the throne-room just to see a person, who looked like Cremia … but younger … and this person shot arrows at the guardians. Yes, dear reader … it was our little hero with the nickname "Redleaf" … our Romani.  
>Romani shot three arrows at the guardians next to Aveil and Cremia and hit them right in the shoulders. About four guardians ran to Romani from her left side … with their spears pointing at Romani … and they ran … to be exact … they ran fast.<p>

"_Raaah! Back off!"_ screamed another voice and surprised the four guardians with an attack from above. It was a young, blonde boy in green clothes that wielded a sword … and this person performed a spin attack that hit all guardians in the legs … causing them to fall next to him. Yes, dear reader … it was our little hero with the nickname "Grasshopper" … our Link.

Link ran to Romani and both fought against another three guardians that came from the right.  
>Romani hit one of them right in the head with an arrow and killed her accidentally while Link destroyed their spears with his sword and cut their legs.<br>The attacks from the guardians were good for Aveil. While Link and Romani fought against the guardians, Aveil used the time to grab Cremia's hair and drag her up, forcing her to stand again. She also used the time to grab one of her sabers and to hold it right in front of Cremia's throat. Now it was the time for the ultimate threat:

"_If you make one more fast movement, young lady, I will kill her immediately"_ said Aveil to Link and Romani while holding the bleeding Cremia. Aveil looked into Romani's eyes with an angry mien … for a good reason.

Romani gulped and began to tremble … and so did Link. Joseph was paralyzed … he couldn't speak … he couldn't move … the situation shocked him so much. No wonder for someone who came out of a quite peaceful city. Cremia couldn't decide what was worse: Her own pain or the fact that Aveil could harm her little sister as well. Cremia was paralyzed as well … like Joseph was in this situation.

What can Romani and Link do to have the slightest chance to free Cremia and Joseph? How can they even defeat the most dangerous woman in whole Termina? Will our heroes come out of this brutal and painful situation and live together in peace on the ranch again?

**- End of Chapter 19 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **_In the next chapter I'll tell you why Joseph did this and how this changed the storyline. Just to avoid confusion ;)_**  
><strong>__  
>One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	20. Aveil's Revenge

_**Notes from the Author: **__As I said, I can upload today and tomorrow, which is nice. The action-scenes won't getting weaker in the next chapters, so be prepared for a lot of action. :)_

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 20: Aveil's Revenge-**

**Pirate-Fortress (Aveil's throne-room) – Late afternoon (about 5:45 PM):**

After the ultimate threat from Aveil, everything became silent. Romani targeted her bow at Aveil with a trembling hand … but she couldn't shoot. Five centimeter to the right and Romani would kill her own sister … and if she missed … Aveil would kill her anyways … so the situation was bad for Romani and her archery-skills.

But also Link had no chance to do something. He stood next to Romani and trembled as well. One fast movement and Aveil would kill the innocent person that gave him a home in this new world. He and his sword couldn't do anything in this situation … nor could his masks or his other equipment.

Joseph was paralyzed and unable to act too. He was never confronted with death before. Sure, in his computer games he already killed a lot of people … but this time it was no computer game. As he already thought about before, no person in his world could program such a realistic environment. Even if he couldn't believe it … it was the pure reality.

Cremia was helpless as well. The pain from the beating … she could still feel it. Even the kiss penetrated her mind and let her feel even more pain … and now … Aveil even dared to threaten her cute and innocent little sister. The cold blade that Aveil held against her neck was another thing that made everyone of our four protagonists nervous.

The situation was very bad indeed. Nobody could save them right now. It was over. The lives of them were in the hands of Aveil, a sadistic and brutal marauder of the oceans and her soldiers. But instead of killing everyone, Aveil decided to have even more fun with them.  
><em>"Let your bow and arrows fall to the ground, young lady … and you, young boy, let your sword fall …" <em>ordered Aveil to Romani and Link. First both didn't react and looked paralyzed in the eyes of Aveil and Cremia … but soon Aveil moved her saber slightly to the left and right and looked at them in an angry way.

After her movements, Romani and Link immediately let their weapons fall. Romani also fell down to her knees and looked at Cremia with watered eyes.  
><em>"Sis … please … don't die …"<em> said Romani and began to cry like she never did before.  
>Aveil didn't kill Cremia with her saber-movement … she held her blade a few millimeters away from her throat … Aveil knew this movement will scare the hell out of everyone. After the young boy and the young woman let their weapons fall, Aveil ordered one of the guardians to collect the weapons and take them away from Link and Romani.<p>

After the weapons were collected, Aveil put out one dagger of her left bag and gave it to the guardian that collected the weapons.  
><em>"Hold her. If she tries to escape, kill her. If they try to attack you, kill her. If I give you the signal, kill her"<em> ordered Aveil to her soldier and handed Cremia's life in the hands of the soldier, who answered with: _"Affirmative, master Aveil!"_

Now Aveil had both hands free again and could do other stuff with them. She walked slowly to the kneeing and crying Romani and sat down in front of her. Romani noticed that Aveil grabbed her hair … but she didn't drag her around like she did with her sister before.  
><em>"You have beautiful red hair, young lady. What's your name?"<em> asked Aveil.  
><em>"… R-Ro … R-Romani is my name …"<em> answered our Redleaf in the saddest and most nervous voice she was able to.  
><em>"Romani … a beautiful name. Are you a Gerudo?"<em> asked Aveil … it's the same question she already asked Cremia before.

"_N-No … R-R-Romani is a … a T-Terminan"_ answered Romani.  
><em>"I have seen that you have amazing archery skills, Romani. It needs a lot of training to kill or even harm a Gerudo-Soldier with a bow. We could need someone like you in … our team. Do you want to be a Gerudo as well?"<em> asked Aveil and grabbed Romani's chin to move her head up … which allowed Aveil to look into Romani's eyes … and maybe her soul as well.  
><em>"… I … I can't … I don't want to … no … please … I can't … I-I …"<em> answered Romani in a stuttering voice.

"_Well … if you don't want to be a Gerudo, then you and your friends are useless for me, you know?" _answered Aveil.  
><em>"… Please … don't … don't kill sis …"<em> said Romani … and began to cry again after Aveil's threat.  
><em>"If you don't want to be a Gerudo, then she will be the first one that will die"<em> answered Aveil.  
><em>"No! Don't! I … I will be a Gerudo … please don't … don't kill sister … or Blueberry … or my Grasshopper …"<em> answered Romani.

The situation was getting even worse. Now Romani had no other option to become the same person like Aveil … a greedy thief … and a sadistic murderer. Romani had no other choice … and Aveil smiled because her plan worked.  
><em>"Well then, Romani. First you have to swear fidelity to me and the Gerudo-Pirates in western Termina"<em> said Aveil to Romani with a smile. She stood up, walked back and sat down on her throne.  
><em>"Come to me, Romani"<em> ordered Aveil her newest soldier.

Romani was a nervous wreck … and so did Cremia, Link and Joseph … but now it wasn't the time to give up. Romani stood up and walked towards Aveil. Her cheeks were watered with tears … she had never cried so much before and while she walked to Aveil she was still crying a lot. She tried to hold her tears back … because she doesn't want to show her own weakness to Aveil … this might have endangered the life of the others … her friends and family. While Romani slowly walked towards Aveil, Joseph recognized a strange sound that flew over the fortress. Strange … what was that? Sounded very weird for a world like Termina … but now it wasn't the right time to think about this.

"_Knee down"_ ordered Aveil and Romani kneed down in front of her. Romani looked into Aveil's frightening eyes and awaited the next order.  
><em>"Kiss my hand"<em> was the next order … and Romani did it.  
><em>"And now, Romani … pledge loyalty to me"<em> ordered Romani's new master.  
><em>"I … I will … I will do whatever you want … m-master A-Aveil …"<em> stuttered Romani and made Aveil smile again.

This view was even more painful for Cremia. Losing her own sister to a cruel pirate-queen … by extorting her with the death of the people she loves. What's even worse was the fact that Romani had her birthday not so long ago and turned 12. She was way too young to withstand such a big amount of torture. But Aveil didn't care about the lives of others. The only thing that counted for her was her own desire.

"_Good … good … young Romani … now I will give you my first order … it's a very special order … so listen carefully"_ said Aveil and held one of Romani's shoulders. Aveil guided Romani to Link until they stood three meters in front of him. Aveil took Romani's bow and one arrow and gave it back to Romani.  
>Oh no … did Aveil really wanted to … to order Romani to execute Link … her Grasshopper.<p>

First Romani looked at her bow with confusion … but soon realized what Aveil wanted from her after Romani looked into the nervous and fearful eyes of Link. Romani immediately looked into Aveil's eyes and her shocked eyes began to water again.  
><em>"Okay Romani. This young boy over here … he is a cruel and brutal thief. He stole from me and I want the thing that he stole from me back. Target your bow at his head and order him to give me the hookshot back. If he doesn't do what you want from him … kill him"<em> said Aveil to Romani.

Romani began to tremble again … and several tears began to flow down her cheeks. Now Links life was in the hands of Romani. Romani knew what would happen if she didn't follow Aveil's orders … she would kill her sister. Romani had no other choice to target her bow and the arrow at Link's head.

While she targeted her bow at his head, she wept and trembled a lot for a good reason. She had to kill her best friend if he didn't follow her orders. So Romani said her order … but reluctantly.  
><em>"G-G-Grasshopper … please … please give it … give it back to her … please … I don't want to …"<em> said Romani in her most nervous voice.  
>Link didn't say anything and nodded with a shocked face. He grabbed in his magic-bag and put out his hookshot … which he gave Romani.<p>

After Romani held the hookshot, Aveil immediately grabbed it out of Romani's hands. Finally Aveil had her hookshot back. Maybe now it was the time to release Cremia, Joseph, Link and also Romani from her talons.  
><em>"Good work, Romani. But that's not everything I want from him. As I mentioned, I want 5.000 rupees too"<em> said Aveil and made everyone nervous again.  
><em>"B-But I … I don't … I don't have such an amount of money …"<em> said Link in a nervous voice and Aveil only answered with:  
><em>"Well … if that's the case …"<em>

Aveil turned to Romani and said: _"If he is too stupid to follow our orders, then he isn't worth anything for me. Kill him, Romani"  
><em>Right, that's it! Aveil ordered Romani to kill Link. Romani wept even more, shook her head and said: _"please no … I … I can't do that … he … he is my … my friend …"_

Aveil turned her head to Cremia and the guardian that held the dagger in front of her throat … and held her hand in the air. But before Aveil moved her hand down, which was the signal to kill Cremia; she looked into Romani's eyes again and saw that she cried even more.  
><em>"P-Please … no … I … I will … I will do what you want, A-Aveil"<em>

Romani targeted her bow at Link's head and trembled while weeping. After a few seconds, Romani had no other choice. Either her sister will die … or her Grasshopper. No one in this room has been mentally tortured as much as Romani in this moment before. The choice to either kill her best friend or her own sister … that's what I call cruel options.  
>Romani had no other option to follow Aveil's orders. So she closed her eyes … and released the arrow.<p>

Was this her decision? Did Romani kill Link with her own weapons? Fortunately she didn't. After she opened her eyes again, she saw that Link was still alive … because she missed. Maybe one of the best archers in Termina missed her target that stood idle and three meters in front of her.  
>She couldn't do it. She couldn't kill her best friend … her Grasshopper. But what will happen now? Will her miss make Aveil angry and let her kill Cremia?<p>

"_I am disappointed, Romani"_ said Aveil to her. _"I thought you're one of the best archers. Well, if you missed the target, I have no other choice to punish you for disappointing your master"._  
>Soon Aveil walked to one of the tables, opened a drawer and put out a whip with nine tails out of it.<br>Oh no … Aveil … did she really want to punish a child this way?

"_Twenty whip strokes for your failure, that's the punishment for disappointing your master"_ said Aveil to Romani … held her whip in the air … and hit Romani with her nine-tails whip. The pain caused Romani to scream a lot … and paralyzed Cremia, Joseph and Link even more. The whip strokes did more pain to her than the beating did to Cremia before. Stroke number eleven … stroke number twelve … stroke number thirteen … with each stroke Romani screamed louder and louder and bled even more and more. This Gerudo-Whip was painful as hell.

After the last stroke, Aveil moved back, took another arrow and threw it in front of Romani, who lay on the dirty ground … crying … full of pain … and bleeding. This view hurt so much in the eyes of Link, Joseph and particularly Cremia. Seeing our young ranch-girl being tortured by Aveil was probably the worst scene you could imagine.  
><em>"Stand up and try to hit this time. I will count from ten to zero, if I say zero or if you miss this time, I will kill everyone … including you"<em> said Aveil and made the ultimate threat to the hurt Romani.  
>Joseph heard the same sound again. Really, what was that weird sound over the fortress? This doesn't sound like something he knew in this world.<p>

Romani tried to stand up again … every movement was painful as hell … but she tried and tried to stand up and managed to stand on her own feet … barely … but she stood on her own feet again. She grabbed her bow again and had to shoot Link this time without missing.  
><em>"Ten … nine … eight … seven … six … five … four …"<em> counted Aveil down.  
>But the mental strain was too much … Romani … she collapsed in front of everyone. It was simply too much for the young girl.<p>

"_Well … this means I have to try something else"_ said Aveil and grabbed her whip again. She moved to Cremia and hit her with the whip a few times. But Romani didn't recognize Cremia's loud screams … which wasn't really surprising because she lost her consciousness. This didn't work either. Aveil was slowly losing her patience and soon decided to kill Link with her own sabers.

Was this the end for our heroes? Was this the end for the journey into the unknown world? Was this …

"_Master Aveil! Run! Please run! They're everywhere!"_ shouted a Gerudo-Officer, who came from the entrance of the throne room and interrupted the Author in writing the finishing questions. Aveil and everyone else looked at the hysterical officer. What the heck? What was she talking about? Who is everywhere … and what were these weird sounds?

**- End of Chapter 20 -**

_**Notes from the Author:  
><strong>__  
>One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	21. Appetite for Destruction - Part I

_**Notes from the Author: **__Good news, readers!  
>Today I was so creative and powered by Hardstyle-Music and the sugar that came from Belgian nougat-chocolate that I decided to write and upload a second chapter for today. Have fun with it too! :)<em>_**  
><strong>__Now it's time for getting things even worse and the title might fit very well. This time I will split it up in even five parts to describe the destiny of Termina very well. Be prepared for pure action in those five chapters ;P_

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 21: Appetite for Destruction – Part I -**

**Pirate-Fortress (Aveil's throne-room) – About 7:40 PM:**

"_What's happening outside?!"_ asked Aveil her hysterical officer. But no answer came, because she had to catch her breath again. It must be something really important; otherwise she wouldn't have dared to interrupt Aveil while she had their fun with her "guests".  
><em>"I … I really don't know … what those things are … but … but they are attacking us … not only us … they are over whole Termina … master … please run … we … we have no chance against them … they use weird weapons … and there are too many of them"<em> answered the officer while gasping. The same sound that Joseph heard before could be heard very well now through the whole throne room. It sounded like some kind of a roar from a … plane engine … but the sound was highly pitched.

While the officer warned Aveil from her possible doom, Link used the time to recover from the shock, free himself from his paralyze and to run to his sword. Aveil noticed Link running and got extremely angry at him … she only focused at Link … and released her thirst for blood. Aveil's only desire at this moment was to see Link dead. Her own survival or the lives of her soldiers was not important at this moment for her. She preferred to fight against Link instead of this unknown new enemy.  
><em>"No, not this time, young boy. You won't survive in here … not today. The time for my revenge has come … I will kill you with my own hands"<em> said Aveil and drew her second saber. She ran towards Link, holding both sabers in her hands … and desired for his death.  
>Link managed to run fast enough to get his sword back from the table and to block her fast attack. Two seconds later and Link's head would have been cut off from his body.<p>

Meanwhile, after the warning from the officer … and the high-pitched sounds … and weaker earthquakes … and explosion-sounds from outside of the fortress, the guardians that held Cremia and Joseph became nervous. Fortunately they got so nervous that they released them and ran outside to fight against the new and unknown enemy. Finally, Joseph and Cremia were free again.

Romani lay still on the ground without the slightest movement.  
>Cremia was still hurt a lot too and still felt a lot of pain … but she crawled to her bleeding little sister with weeping eyes … and she tried to suppress her own pain.<br>After she came close enough to see the hurt face of Romani, she cried … this view … it … it was so painful for Cremia. Her own little sister … she was tortured by a crazy pirate-queen … for no reason. Romani's dress was soaked in her own blood and her face also was covered in scratches.  
>Cremia hugged Romani and cried because of her death.<p>

Joseph, who was freed too, used the time to recover from the shock and to free himself from his paralyze too. He saw Link and Aveil fighting … fortunately Link used a lot of his power to push Aveil towards the exit of the throne room. So the fight won't come to their direction. Joseph wondered what was happening outside … but the view of Cremia crying while holding the body of Romani was worse … so he ran to Cremia and hoped that he has the slightest chance to calm her. After he arrived and crouched next to them, Cremia released her tortured emotions at him:

"_My … my lovely R-Romani … no … I-I can't … I can't believe this … she … she's dead … please Joseph … tell me that this is just a huge nightmare … please I … I lost the only remaining person from my family … my precious Romani … she … she is dead …"_ said Cremia to him and cried her soul out of her body.  
>The only thing Joseph could do at this moment was to hold her shoulder and be at her side. The loss of the own little sister is one of the cruelest things that could ever happen to her. Romani didn't deserve this. She was a lovely and happy person, a person that didn't want something bad for anyone … and now … she was gone … because of the vindictiveness of one other person.<p>

Or was she gone? Joseph looked at Romani and had this weird gut feeling again. He stood up and moved to the other side, so that he sat on the other side of Romani's body and opposite of Cremia.  
>Joseph held his hand in front of Romani's nose and her opened mouth … and he has never been happier before to feel warm air on his hands. He also checked her neck … and he has never been happier before to feel a pulse.<br>_"Cremia, she is still alive! She looks quite dead indeed … but she is still alive! She is breathing and her heart is still beating. I think she "only" lost her consciousness. There is still hope for your sister!"_ said Joseph to Cremia and told her the good news.  
><em>"R-Really? Oh … oh thanks to the goddesses that she is not dead. Thank you so much … and thank you Joseph … this … this is calming me a lot …"<em> answered Cremia and hugged her sister even more. Her already dirty blouse got bloody too after the hug.

"_I am glad too. But even when she is alive, Cremia, we have no time to waste. I don't exactly understand what's happening outside right now, so we should find a save spot very soon, where we can treat her. I … I know you are hurt a lot too … I am sorry if I stress you with that but … can you walk? We … we really need to get out of here!"_ said Joseph to Cremia. Cremia nodded and accepted Joseph's concern … because he was right. From outside came a lot of strange sounds like explosions and those highly-pitched roars.

After Cremia agreed, Joseph put his hands under the still unconscious Romani and stood up.  
><em>"I will carry her. You are hurt too and I am the luckiest person of us all by not being damaged physically. Cremia, I … I will promise you that I will protect your sister like … uhm … well … like she would me … my own daughter …"<em> said Joseph to Cremia.  
>These words warmed Cremia's heart and made her smile again … he was for sure a brave and reasonable young man. Cremia hobbled next to Joseph … and gave him a kiss on his left cheek.<br>_"Thank you Joseph"_ said Cremia and smiled at him. Seeing Cremia smiling again made Joseph happy as well. But now it was not the right time for happy faces, it was time to get the hell out of there.

Meanwhile Link and Aveil were still fighting like they never did before. Link defeated the lord of evil, Ganondorf, before … but Aveil was a very well fighter indeed. Her sword skills were impressive. It was like she was dancing with her blades, making her to a tornado that could cut everything it touches. But our hero of time managed to dodge every attack of her … but unfortunately she managed to dodge his attacks as well. Both fought with such intensity, but Link attacked so strong with his sword that he pushed her outside of her own throne-room.

Link was so focused on Aveil and vice versa that they didn't recognize that it was raining a lot. The rain made the ground slippery and dangerous for our two fighters as well.  
>But the rain was their smallest problem. Weird things flew over the fortress and made highly-pitched sounds … and shot something like balls of energy at the fortress and the soldiers … causing explosions wherever the ball hit.<br>What were those things? Those … "drones" were something that neither Termina nor Joseph has seen before. Even the purpose of those drones and the senseless attack was also unknown. Those drones looked a lot like some kind of plane … but they had some weird kind of insectile look.  
>(<em>Note from the Author: Yes, I will draw an artwork at some time and update the chapter after I finished it ;)<em>) The downside of those drones always carried some kind of energy-sphere … and the shots came from that sphere. Whatever those things were, they mean a lot of business for the pirates and our heroes.

But Link and Aveil didn't recognize the storm or the drones. They focused on each other like there would be nothing else in this world. Our hero of time and the saber-dancing pirate-queen fought with the desire to defeat each other. The intensity didn't get weaker over time and Link managed to push Aveil downstairs … to the center of the Gerudo-Fortress (where the watchtower is standing).  
>Now Link and Aveil had a wide field to fight against each other and …<p>

***Boom*** … one of those drones shot at the watch-tower with its energy-projectile and caused the tower to fall with its guardians. The bridge that connected the tower and the entrance to the warehouse felt together with the already burning tower. Link and Aveil recognized the incoming danger that they could be squashed by the tower … and both acted immediately.

Who will win in this exciting swordfight, Aveil or Link?  
>Will Romani survive until Cremia and Joseph can find some kind of treatment for her?<br>Will our heroes understand and survive this new danger and get outside the fortress before those weird drones destroy the fortress together with them?

**- End of Chapter 21 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__Now I will tell you the reason for Joseph's action in chapter 18 to avoid confusion. No, his action was not stupid. He did this because of his gut-feelings again and he was right with the feeling. He couldn't prevent the torture of Cremia and Romani … but he prevented that the same things happened to them much earlier. If Joseph didn't act before, Aveil would torture Cremia much earlier. Then Romani would have attacked much earlier and the same torture would have happened much earlier to her as well. If Joseph didn't give them more time before, Aveil would kill everyone in chapter 20. Just to mention it ;)__**  
><strong>__  
>One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	22. Appetite for Destruction - Part II

_**Notes from the Author:  
><strong>__I am really sorry for not uploading yesterday. I came home very late and had to do something after coming home, also the day after would be Monday and I wanted to get enough sleep for the next day. But today it's time for Appetite for Destruction – Part II! ;)_

_I also finished the chapter-artworks for chapter 1 and chapter 2 (well, at least the pencil-drawings). Soon I will redraw them in my computer like I did with the cover image. For every finished artwork, I will also rewrite some parts of the, already existing, chapter. This means that I will finally correct my horrible English and rewrite some parts by describing the situations in a more exciting way. I won't add content to the already existing chapters, I promise! ;)  
>You will know that I updated a chapter if I added this symbol to its chapter name: (+)<br>For example, if I updated chapter one, you will know it if it looks like this:  
>"(+) Journey to an unknown world"<em>

_But enough announcements for now, let's continue the existing story!_

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 22: Appetite for Destruction – Part II -**

**Pirate-Fortress – Early Evening:**

"_I have no idea how we will get out of this hellhole, but we really shouldn't stay inside here, Joseph"_ said Cremia to Joseph, who still carried the unconscious and hurt Romani in his hands. Both were still standing in the throne-room.  
><em>"Hmmm … well … maybe you're right … but I don't really believe it will be much safer outside"<em> answered Joseph with a doubtful voice to our hurt and hobbling Cremia.  
><em>"But if we don't move, this building will soon be a ruin too if …"<br>_***Boom*** … one of the energy-projectiles from those strange drones hit the main-building and caused a bright and loud explosion in the corner of the throne-room backside. After Cremia and Joseph withstood the smaller earthquake and the bang, caused by the explosion, Joseph turned to Cremia and said:  
><em>"O-Ok, you're r-right. Let's get the hell out of here …"<em>

Cremia and Joseph immediately ran outside the main-entrance of the throne-room and only saw death and pure devastation. Drones flew around the fortress and shot their projectiles at the buildings and the Gerudo-Soldiers. They even saw Link and Aveil fighting next to the watchtower, who was just hit by one of the projectiles, causing the tower to fall in a bright explosion towards Link and Aveil.  
>The burning tower even contained a few guardians … but they fell together with the tower to the ground … and got smashed by its debris.<p>

Link and Aveil saw the incoming danger and dodged by jumping to the side. Link was very lucky at this moment. Only a few meters to his left and one of the watchtower-debris would have crushed him. The burning tower soon wasn't burning anymore. Don't forget that it was raining a lot at this sad day. The tears of the sky rained down to our four heroes … to the Gerudo-Pirates … and maybe whole Termina.

"_Oh my … what … what a horrible view … death and destruction everywhere … this is … it's so sad … why? … just why, Joseph?" _said Cremia to Joseph and tears flowed down her cheeks. The rancher has never seen a war-scene like this. Living on the ranch was quite peaceful for our ranchers, even if the Gorman sabotaged them sometimes. Cremia nearly lost her own life or the life of her sister before and now she and her new family had to escape a war-like scenario. How could the situation become even worse than this?  
><em>"True … Cremia … I … I've never seen such a terrible battlefield before … this is just … incredibly sad …"<em> answered Joseph. Joseph knew how war looks like in his computer games. But this view in reality … the view to see death and destruction all over the place is nothing compared to the virtual world. Together with the rain in the darkness and the horrible highly-pitched plane-sounds that flew around the fortress, it looked like a nightmare … but this time it was the pure reality.

"_Let's move, Cremia … I really really__** really**__ hope we will find an escape route … or at least a safe spot …"_ said Joseph and both began to run downstairs.  
><em>"May the goddesses be on our side tonight<em> …" prayed Cremia and hobbled downstairs as well.  
>The bright explosions all over the place lit the fortress for a few seconds which helped them to orientate through the darkness. One another good thing was the rain. It washed the blood from Romani's and Cremia's dress and skin away and fortunately it also cooled the wounds, which harmed the pain for Cremia a lot.<br>So our already soaked milk-rancher and electrical-engineer ran … with the hope to quickly find a good escape plan.

Meanwhile our young Hero of Time, Link, and the blade-dancing pirate-queen, Aveil, continued their battle and fought next to the destroyed watch-tower. Aveil still wanted to hold the cut-off head of Link in her hands and Link wanted to bring her to reason. Link didn't want to kill her, but maybe a critical hit will knock some sense into her greedy and blood-thirsty mind.  
>Now Aveil focused all her anger and passion and danced with her sabers like a tornado. Her technique was a quite unconventional sword-technique but it worked very well in killing her victims before. They never knew from where she will attack next and Aveil could dodge nearly every attack while she twirled around.<p>

Her passion and anger focused a lot of power in her blades and pushed Link towards the corridor, which ended in the fortified port of the pirate-fortress (= the place where the boats are patrolling around ingame). She pushed him around like he did with her before.  
>She saw that Link is a very well fighter for a boy his age. So she tried another tactic:<p>

"_You are a good fighter indeed, young boy. But do you really think that you can defeat me? I am the greatest pirate queen in the whole world and the best swordfighter of all of them. Don't try to defeat me, silly boy, because you simply can't! After I defeated you, I will kill your redheaded friends as slowly as possible … because they are suffering so well … oh yes, I love that … and your friend in the blue clothes … he will be very useful for us Gerudo too … hehehe. Give up and maybe I will spare your pathetic life …"_  
>said Aveil to Link in the hope to provoke him. Provoked people tend to do stupid things and Aveil knew that.<p>

"_I don't want to kill you. I … I just want to protect my friends. You attacked them for no reason and nearly killed them. This insanity must end now, Aveil …"_ answered Link and both stopped fighting. Aveil walked slowly towards Link and he walked back slowly too. This was also part of Aveil's plan. Pushing him through the corridor … and giving him less space to fight on the platform of the port.  
><em>"Brave, aren't you? But you are also foolish to believe that I won't take revenge for what you did to me … to me and my honor. The only thing that count now is to get my revenge … and my honor back with your death …"<em> answered Aveil.  
><em>"Your honor?! Aveil, look around! Your people are dying because of those flying things. They are destroying the homes of your people … and they die … everyone dies because they protect … they protect what they love. Turn and help your people instead of satisfying your egoistic beliefs …"<em> answered Link in the hope to bring reason in her mind … but he failed.  
><em>"They die for me … and only for me. I don't care what those things are … because today is the day where you will die"<em> was Aveil's angry answer … and immediately began to fight against Link again.

Link didn't get why Aveil was so stubborn and blood-thirsty … because he was right. Every Gerudo-Soldier was fighting against that unknown new enemy to protect what they love … except Aveil … and a lot of them died. The airstrikes were just too much for the Gerudo and let the fortress burn.  
>Nothing of their weapons could harm those flying things. Bows and arrows were useless against the armor of those things.<br>The soldiers didn't even care about the soaked Joseph and Cremia, who ran next to them. They noticed them but … but defending their homes was way more important than following the execution-order from Aveil. Maybe that was the reason why they released Joseph and Cremia before.

"_Cremia, look! Over there!"_ said Joseph to her and looked at a higher entrance on the southern wall of the devastated inner yard. This was the corridor that connected the fortified port from another way. But it was two floors higher than Joseph, Cremia and Romani. How can they get up there?  
>Cremia looked around and saw something that looked like crates. Fortified crates … maybe used as a defensive wall … to be exactly.<br>_"Joseph, if we can push one of these crates to the wall, we will be able to climb up at least one floor"_ said the hobbling Cremia and was right.  
>Joseph laid Romani down on the wet floor next to the wall, which was not really the best place for her while there was a devastating battle at the center of a pirate-fortress. But they had no other choice<em>. "Well … uhm … don't … don't run away …"<em> said Joseph to the unconscious and soaked Romani 

After his unnecessary request, he ran to Cremia, who already stood behind one of the fortified crates. _"Okay Joseph … now push … pushhh … argh … come on … just … a few more meters …"_ said Cremia while they pushed the crate together to the wall.  
><em>"Whew, now let's get up quickly! These explosions are coming way to fast in our directions …"<em>  
>said Joseph, took Romani in his arms again and climbed up the first wall.<br>The second wall was no problem at all. The drones already shot at the edge before and destroyed the wall, so our heroes can climb up without bigger problems.  
>Done, both now were in front of the corridor and ran towards the corridor. At the end of the co…<p>

***Boom*** … another explosion … but this time some meters behind Joseph and Cremia. Maybe one of those drones detected our heroes now and shot at them. The shockwave of the explosion caused Cremia and Joseph to fall to the ground together with Romani. Fortunately the projectile didn't hit them directly … otherwise they would be pulverized. Cremia and Romani didn't get much damage except for some smaller scratches … but Joseph got hit by debris.

His right leg to be exact got hit by a hand-sized part of the floor … and it flew fast at his leg … ouch that must be hurting. _"Arrrgh … Damnit! That hurts …"_ screamed Joseph and held his hurt leg.  
><em>"Oh my … Joseph no! Oh no not you too. Can … can you walk?"<em> asked Cremia and looked at his hurt leg.  
><em>"Ouch … well … I think I can … we … we have to go … Cremia … damn those flying things!"<em> answered Joseph and stood up again. Now Joseph and Cremia hobbled together through the corridor … and both came to a platform over the salty water of Great-Bay.

"_This looks like a port or something like that …"_ said Cremia.  
><em>"Look over there, Cremia! Is … is this some kind of gate?"<em> said Joseph and pointed to a big wall of steel that he spotted through the darkness and the rain.  
><em>"Well … I really hope so. But how can we open such a massive gate of steel?"<em> asked Cremia and was right. There was no visible way to open it. Fortunately no one of those drones flew over the port. So maybe they are quite save here from their devastating projectiles and their annoying highly-pitched sounds.

But even thought this is a quite save spot … how will they go on? The big gate of steel at the south-side of the fortress had no visible way to get opened. Climbing up the gate didn't seem to be …  
><em>"Hey! Pssst!"<em> whispered a voice to Cremia and Joseph, who immediately turned around.  
>Soon Cremia and Joseph saw one of the Gerudo-Soldiers who said to them: "I … I can help you … with the gate"<p>

"_Oh no … please … please don't kill me … I … I can't …"_ answered Cremia and got nervous again. Another torture from the Gerudo would be way too much for her right now. But somehow the person didn't threat her and Joseph with her spear.  
><em>"I don't want to kill you … please … I am not like Aveil … I see you are wound and got attacked too like all of us … please, you can trust me … I will help you …"<em> answered the mysterious Gerudo-Soldier and held her hands in the air … which was the signal that she is unarmed.

Who is this mysterious person that wants to help Cremia and Joseph in this tricky situation?  
>Can they even trust her or is she just another minion of Aveil?<br>And what about Link and Aveil? Can Link even defeat her and knock some sense into Aveil's mind?

**- End of Chapter 22 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **___

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	23. Appetite for Destruction - Part III

_**Notes from the Author: "**__Appetite for Destruction – Part III" here we go! I had a test today and I don't have any tests until next Thursday, so I am able to write even more chapters in the next days :)__**  
><strong>__  
>Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!<br>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)_

**- Chapter 23: Appetite for Destruction – Part III -**

**Pirate-Fortress (Fortified Port) – About 8:10 PM:**

"_Whoa"_ said Link and nearly felt down the platform and into the water. Aveil pushed him with her saber-dance though the corridor that leads to the fortified port of the pirate-fortress and already arrived at the platform. Aveil nearly pushed him into the water but fortunately he recognized the edge early enough to react properly.  
><em>"As I told you, young boy, you have no chance against me. Give up"<em> said Aveil to Link and focused all her power into her blades. Was this the end for Link? He really had no space to fight well against Aveil anymore.

No it was not the end for Link … not now. He saw only one option that might save him now in this tricky situation. He looked to his left and saw one of the Gerudo-Guards patrolling around with her boat. Fortunately she came in his direction and was very close to the platform. This must be it … his only chance to escape Aveil. It was his only option to escape the sabers that already killed a lot of people before. Link jumped down the platform before Aveil could cut his body in half … and he landed on the boat.

Aveil got even angrier and shouted: _"You little coward!"_ while he fought against the guard on the boat. The guard had not much chance against Link and his precise swordfight. He destroyed her spear and kicked her off the boat with his strong legs. Finally Link was save from Aveil again … well … uhm … that's what he thought … because he actually wasn't.  
><em>"You coward won't escape me again … not this time … I will get you!"<em> screamed Aveil and released her pure anger and hatred at our young and blonde Hero of Time.

She ran along the platform … and jumped down on the boat as well. Unfortunately Link didn't know how to control this boat, so it just swam around its standard-route … and the standard route followed the platform. Aveil knew that, so she could jump down the boat and endanger the life of Link again. Soon both fought against each other again … on a boat … which swam at the center of the pirate-port … while darkness and heavy raining … and while an unknown enemy attacked the fortress. A very awkward situation for our young hero named Link.

Meanwhile Cremia and Joseph still stood in front of the Gerudo-Soldier, who offered her help to our adolescent and redheaded rancher named Cremia, the young and unconscious archer named Romani and also to our adolescent and foreign electrical-engineer named Joseph.  
><em>"I am really not interested in harming you in any way. Please … follow me … I know the way out of the fortress …" <em>said the mysterious Gerudo to them ... and they followed her because … well … they had no other choice.

The Gerudo, Joseph and Cremia, who held Romani, ran back to the corridor where they originally came from … but in the middle of the corridor they stopped and turned left. Hmmm there was an iron-door that they didn't notice before … well except for the Gerudo …  
><em>"This is the control-room where I will open the gate"<em> said the Gerudo and everyone entered the room. It was a large room with a lot of gears in it … and some levers.

"_I am glad you are helping us. Thank you a lot … uhm … well I don't even know your name" _said Cremia to her. Cremia was still not sure if she can trust her. Since Aveil attacked her and Romani she is very distrustful against every Gerudo in Termina.  
><em>"Nazran"<em> answered the Gerudo and immediately walked to the levers.  
><em>"Pardon?"<em> asked Cremia because she didn't understand what she meant.  
><em>"Nazran is my name. I am the officer of this control-room … and you're welcome. In situations like this we shouldn't fight against each other … and work together instead"<em> answered Nazran and introduced herself to Cremia and Joseph.

"_Nice to meet you, Nazran. I am Cremia and the girl in my hands is my sister Romani and the man next to me is Joseph"_ introduced Cremia.  
><em>"Nice to meet you too, Cremia and Joseph … and Romani … oh god … what happened to her?"<em> asked Nazran and looked at the still unconscious and hurt Romani.  
><em>"It was Aveil .She … she attacked Cremia and Romani … actually for no reason at all …"<em> said Joseph to Nazran. She didn't answer at first but only shook her head … this was going way too far …

"_I … I am so sorry for that … Cremia … that was … that was going way too far … to traumatize you and Romani for your life for no reason … Cremia please … please forgive me and the whole Gerudo. I … I don't like Aveil either. She … she is a cruel tyrant and tortures people just for her own pleasure. We suffer under her regency like everyone else … and we only follow her orders just because we fear her. Aveil doesn't deserve to be called our queen …"_ said Nazran to Cremia and felt so sorry for her, Romani and also for Joseph.  
><em>"I … uhm … it's okay Nazran. I shouldn't convict you or the Gerudo for Aveil's actions"<em> answered Cremia, which calmed Nazran.

The wounds of Cremia and Romani touched Nazran's heart. Cremia's and Joseph's legs were hurt by either Aveil or by the debris. They were only able to hobble, so running was not really possible for them. Romani was hurt over her whole body. She had a lot of wounds all over her visible skin and Aveil's whip even harmed her invisible skin (=the skin under her dress). Cremia also was hurt a lot besides her leg because of Aveil's aggression. But not only Cremia, Joseph and Romani were hurt, Nazran was hurt too. She had a big wound over her left arm, which looked like someone cut her before.

Nazran was right. The Gerudo suffered a lot because of Aveil. For every raid Aveil planned together with the others, she talked about "treasures that make every Gerudo rich" … but in the end only Aveil got richer and several pirates let her life for her. Aveil was for sure the cruelest queen of all and Nazran knew that … but she didn't dare to attack her … she is still a way better fighter than every Gerudo in whole Termina. Nazran wanted to escape too. Against this new enemy no Gerudo had the slightest chance with their primitive weapons … and maybe she could escape the cruel Aveil too.  
>By helping Cremia, Joseph and Romani, she also helped herself. Nazran pulled the last levers and …<p>

"_Ugh … Sis? Wha-what happened? Ouch … where am I? … and why are you carrying me?" _said a well known voice from Cremia's hands.  
>"<em>Oh my … Romani! My precious Romani … I am so glad you are alive"<em> answered Cremia and hugged her sister who just regained her consciousness.  
><em>"Why should Romani be dead? Romani can't remember what happened"<em> said Romani in her probably wooziest voice she could ever say.  
><em>"I will explain everything later … but first we need to escape from here …"<em> said Cremia to her.

To see Romani alive didn't only calmed Cremia. Joseph hugged her too and was glad that the young ranch-girl didn't die … and even Nazran was glad to see Romani alive.  
>Nazran pulled the last lever and caused the huge gears in the room to spin. She walked to the wall, where a hanging ladder hung on the wall and grabbed the ladder.<br>_"Okay, now the gate should be open. Come on, let's move!"_ said Nazran to our three heroes … and everybody immediately ran outside.

Cremia still carried Romani in her arms … she didn't thought that Romani was able to walk at this moment. Joseph's and Cremia's leg were hurt but Romani was still woozy and weak … so Cremia tried to ignore the pain and carried Romani.  
>After our heroes arrived at the platform again, the steel-gate on the southern-side of the Gerudo-fortress was open and Nazran fastened the hanging ladder on the edge of the platform. Beneath the platform was a boat … which was the final escape-way for Cremia, Romani, Joseph and Nazran.<p>

"_Wait … is … is that … Link and Aveil over there?"_ said Joseph and spotted him and Aveil on a boat, where they were still fighting. The fight was lasting for a long time … it was really a wonder that nobody was already exhausted.  
><em>"Oh my … yes … you're right Joseph"<em> said Cremia.  
><em>"My … my grasshopper … he … is he fighting?"<em> asked Romani and Cremia nodded.  
><em>"Quick, climb down to the boat and let's get the hell out of here …"<em> said Nazran.  
><em>"Romani, can you climb?"<em> asked Cremia and Romani nodded. Romani was still quite weak, but she regained enough strength to climb. She was the first one to climb down … and soon noticed a highly-pitched sound coming from the sky.

"_Oh god, sis … what the hell are those things in the sky?"_ asked Romani and looked up the dark sky. It seems like the drones are attacking the port now after they destroyed the whole living-space of the Gerudo-Fortress. The situation became way more dangerous now.  
><em>"Romani, please hurry! I will explain everything later … but we really need to get out of here!" <em>answered Cremia.

After Romani, Cremia and Nazran climbed down as well. Joseph was the last one to climb … because he watched Link and Aveil fighting on the boat.  
><em>"Aaaaah!"<em> … a scream could be heard all over the port … oh no … and this voice sounded familiar.  
>It was Link, who got hit by Aveil after a long fight in his left arm. Aveil cut a deep wound in his arm, which caused Link to fall off the boat … the pain was endless for him … because the water of Great Bay is very salty compared to our oceans … and salt in a deep wound is causing a lot of additional pain … even for our Hero of Time.<p>

"_Oh no … did Aveil just … kill him?"_ asked Joseph, who saw Link's fall while climbing down.  
><em>"I don't believe it … Link! I am coming!"<em> shouted Joseph and jumped down on the boat. He took of his soaked pullover and gave it to Cremia.  
><em>"Uhm … hold this please … I … uhm … I will go for a swim …"<em> said Joseph to her and jumped in the water of Great Bay as well. He dived towards Link and felt a lot of pain in his leg. Swimming with a hurt leg … ouch … what a pain. But he had to do it … for his friend … and also for Romani and Cremia...

He dived towards Link and saw him slowly falling down to the ground … but he managed to save him and get him on the surface again.  
>But the surface was not safe … because a boat waited next to him … with a soaked and angry Aveil on it. Aveil looked deep into Joseph's eyes and swung her sabers around. Was this the end for Joseph and the unconscious Link? Aveil came closer and tried to hit him with her sabers. She held her sword in the …<p>

***boom***… her boat got rammed by another boat. It was the boat, which Nazran used to escape together with her newest friends. The ram caused Aveil to fall of her own boat and into the water as well. After this quite bold step, Nazran said: "Get up, quick!" and dragged Link and Joseph together with Cremia out of the water.

Cremia, Link, Romani, Joseph and Nazran immediately drove towards the open gate. Whew … it … it was done. The pirate fortress was done and Cremia was rescued. But everyone was hurt a lot, particularly Link. He would die if he doesn't get treatment very soon … even if Joseph used his pullover again to stop Link's bleeding. But that's not all. Aveil climbed back on her boat and already followed our five heroes … and two of those weird drones already flew to their direction.

"_Finally sister is safe again. Grasshopper … please don't die!"_ said Romani to him and looked at him with watered eyes.  
><em>"I pray to the goddesses that we will survive tonight. We all."<em> said Cremia to the rest and held her hands in a praying position.  
><em>"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit … they are coming closer. Nazran, please hurry up!"<em> said Joseph to Nazran.  
><em>"I will drive to the coast. Hopefully we will find some treatment for the boy there … or maybe for all of us."<em> said Nazran and navigated the boat through the dark and rainy night.

**- End of Chapter 23 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **___

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	24. Appetite for Destruction - Part IV

_**Notes from the Author: "**__Appetite for Destruction – Part IV" here we go! Sorry for uploading so late, but a good friend of mine was visiting me today and I wanted to conserve my hospitality ;)  
>Tomorrow I will upload the last part of "Appetite for Destruction" and maybe I will also write a second chapter tomorrow … but that's something I can't and won't promise.<br>I want to continue the story and don't want you, yes you dear reader, to wait for too long for updates. ;)__**  
><strong>__  
>Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!<br>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)_

**- Chapter 24: Appetite for Destruction – Part IV -**

**Great-Bay (Beyond the iron-gate) – About 10:20 PM:**

"_Oh no … please dear goddesses … help us now … they are coming closer and closer … give us a wonder …"_ said Cremia silently in front of her. Cremia is a quite religious person and often prayed to the goddesses … particularly in situations like these, praying was probably the only thing that calmed her. Joseph on the other hand was atheist and didn't believe in "religious inventions". But no matter if Din, Farore, Nayru or any god exist at all, one thing was true for sure: only a wonder could save them in this tricky situation right now.

Joseph put his hand on Cremia's shoulder and looked back together with her. Aveil was coming closer and closer. She was snorting … and very angry. The fact that two drones flew over her didn't worried her much … only the death of Cremia, Romani, the traitor Nazran and probably Link would sacrifice her thirst for blood. The drones came closer and closer and Joseph was able to see how they actually looked like. One thing was true for sure: They looked very disturbing and creepy.

"_That drone over there … is that a … spider … in a … kind of mechanical suit … that allows them to fly!? What the actual fuck!? First this medieval-fantasy-like world named Termina and now … some kind of insectile cyborgs that can fly and shoot balls of energy out of nowhere. This is confusing me even more. This __**must**__ be some kind of game, right? Otherwise this wouldn't make sense at all …"_ said Joseph to everyone.  
><em>"Joseph! This is not that what you call "a game". We … we are all confused too … we are all real people … we all had a childhood and have things we love … and no one of us has seen those flying things before, just like you! This is the reality and not fantasy!"<em> answered Cremia to him in a louder voice. His disbelieve in the reality upset her a bit.  
>Joseph took a deep breath and shook his head. After he gulped, he said to Cremia:<br>_"I … I am sorry Cremia. I didn't want to be rude to you … but this is just … this is just way too amazing to be real, well at least for me. I still don't understand how I came here and …"_

"_I understand your point of view too, Joseph. You came here without knowing what actually happened to you to get involved into this mess. It's very strange and confusing what's happening to us all. But we will find out at sometime … but please not now, okay? We can only pray that we survive this mess in any way"_ answered Cremia to Joseph's apologize.  
>Joseph nodded and smiled at Cremia … and she smiled back.<p>

"_Sister, Blueberry, they are coming closer and closer … do we actually have a chance against them? I don't have arrows anymore and Grasshopper …"_ said Romani to our hopeless heroes and was slowly losing her own hope too. But Cremia could only answer with a sad glimpse instead of calming words. After a few minutes of silent mouths, highly-pitched drone-roars and the sound of the rain on a stormy ocean, Joseph suddenly noticed something.

_"There is one thing that I find quite strange now …"_ said Joseph to everyone and everybody looked at him, well except for Link, who was still unconscious.  
><em>"Aveil is coming closer and closer and is already waving with her sabers … but I wonder what those weird drones are waiting for. They are just flying over us but neither shoot on us nor on Aveil".<em>  
>He was right. The drones didn't attack them at all in this situation, even if they often had the chance to and sometimes flew just a few meters over their heads.<br>_"Hmmm … well … actually you're right. It's really a wonder that we aren't already dead now"_ said Nazran and looked up the dark and stormy sky. Well, that's a good thing that the drones weren't attacking at all … but there was still a pirate queen with sabers close to them … and this queen was thirsty for their blood.

Romani had no arrows anymore and was wounded a lot. Link lost his consciousness and was wounded a lot. Joseph and Cremia really weren't fighters and were wounded as well. Nazran was the only one who was able to fight … but she couldn't compete with Aveil's amazing sword-fighting skills. She also had to navigate the boat through the stormy night.  
>So no one of our heroes was able to fight against her.<br>But was it really needed to fight against her? Why not using the brain in a situation like this? A word and a blow … and Nazran noticed a lot of fog in the distance.  
><em>"I will drive into this fog over there. Maybe we can shake Aveil off in there"<em> said Nazran to the rest, who answered with _"good idea"._ She immediately turned right and drove towards the foggy place over the ocean.

"_Sis! Blueberry! He … he was moving!" _shouted Romani to Cremia and Joseph, who immediately turned to our Redleaf.  
><em>"*cough* … ouch … what … *cough* … uuuuugh … wha-what happened?"<em> said a well known voice. Thanks heaven our Grasshopper regained his consciousness again.  
><em>"Link! I am so glad you are alive!"<em> said Joseph and Cremia at the same time to Link, which caused them to chuckle and look at each other. Romani was already hugging her Grasshopper, whom she missed a lot.  
><em>"Aaaaah! What is this … what is this pain in my leg? Aaaaah …"<em> screamed Link. His leg was cut by Aveil before. Joseph bound up his wound with his soaked pullover before to stop his bleeding … oh … right … Link fell into the water before … and the water left salt in his wounds. The pain on Link's wound was endless … but he had an idea to harm the pain … and probably not only for him alone.  
><em>" … Joseph … please … could you … could you give me my bag?"<em> said Link to him and he gave him his bag. What had the young boy, who just regained his conscious, planned?

Link withstood the pain and sat up. He grabbed in his magic bag and searched for something special. After half a minute of searching, he put out a bottle with a strange red liquid in it. He opened the bottle and drank the liquid. What happened next was truly amazing for Joseph, who had never seen something like this before. Link removed his blood-soaked pullover from his wound … but … there was no wound anymore. It disappeared … together with the pain.  
><em>"What the …? Okay … never mind … I am not even going to ask …"<em> said Joseph who was amazed by the healing power of this mysterious liquid.

Link grabbed into his bag again and put out three other red potions. He gave one to each of the other hurt people. Cremia and Romani drank the potion too and the wounds from Aveil's dangerous whip disappeared completely. It also healed the deep wound in Cremia's leg that the Gorman-Brothers cut in her a week before. Joseph tried the potion too. It was very conspicuous that the potion tasted awful … like some kinds of medicine do … but he withstood the protest of his taste buds and drank the whole potion anyways. The pain in his leg disappeared after a few seconds completely. This drank was way better than every aspirin could ever be in his world.

Finally our heroes were healed again. The pain and the wounds were over … and everyone could concentrate on their survival again instead of the pain and the scratches. Everyone took a deep breath to clear their heads too and now it was the time to think.  
>Meanwhile Nazran introduced herself to Link and already drove inside the thick fog … which gave them some time to hide from Aveil and the drones.<p>

"_Aveil is searching us and so are the drones … but the drones don't shoot. Maybe if we provoke the drones and attract them to Aveil …"_ said Nazran to the rest, who looked at each other with thinking glimpses after her suggestion. She was right. Probably there was a reason why the drones didn't attack them … and there was a reason. The drones had to withstand the rain and search a lot for their targets in the darkness. Maybe the time of day and the bad weather wasn't really the best idea to start their air-strikes. Maybe that was also the reason why they didn't hit with every shot and shot randomly at the fortress.

"_I have an idea! I will try out something … but I need an arrow"_ said Link and turned to Romani.  
><em>"Romani only has this one arrow left … Grasshopper … are you sure that your plan is working?" <em>answered Romani and gave him her last arrow.  
><em>"I don't know … but please trust me … you all"<em> said Link to Romani, Cremia, Joseph and Nazran.  
><em>"Okay, Link. But what's the plan?"<em> asked Nazran.  
><em>"Listen up, I will do this: …"<em> said Link and introduced his friends into his plan. Joseph agreed with his plan because it sounded logical for him too. Maybe this might work.  
><em>"But first we have to wait for Aveil. The drones are already here, we only need her" <em>finished Link.

After about twenty minutes of waiting and while everyone looked in different directions just to be sure to spot Aveil, a shadow of a boat and a woman appeared in Cremia's sight.  
>Nobody spoke … this would attract Aveil even more. Cremia turned to Link and tugged his sleeve.<br>Unfortunately Aveil had a good eye and already spotted our five heroes after they spotted her.  
>While she slowly came closer in the thick fog and became more visible, Aveil shouted to them:<br>_"Guess who will get a problem now … hahaha. This is your end" _

Joseph shouted back: _"Guess who will get an even bigger problem now … har har har"  
>"Link! Now!"<em> shouted Cremia and both moved sideways to give Link a free sight on Aveil's boat.  
>Link held his bow and Romani's last arrow towards Aveil. As soon as he targeted at her boat, the surroundings became extremely bright. It was like someone used floodlights to turn the night into day. But this kind of technology was neither used, nor discovered in Termina … the light came from Link's arrow.<br>Link charged his arrow into a light-arrow and immediately shot it at Aveil … and he hit her boat.  
>Aveil, her surprised face and her boat were visible very well now<em>. "He missed … what an idiot"<em> thought Aveil … but actually that was his plan.

Over the heads our heroes and Aveil, a loud noise could be heard … sounded like the drones again … but it seemed they communicated each other by making other weird sounds. Soon, two balls of light could be seen in the foggy sky.  
>Aveil and everyone else knew that this means nothing good. Aveil didn't trust the light-balls and weird sounds and jumped off her boat … which was the right decision for her own life … because a loud and bright <strong>*boom*<strong> destroyed her boat. The explosion from the drone-energy-projectile also destroyed the light arrow and caused the foggy sea to become dark again.  
>The highly pitched-sounds became more silent and silent … which was the signal that they turned back to the pirate-fortress again. It was done. The drones were no danger anymore and Aveil had no option to follow Link, Joseph, Romani, Cremia and Nazran anymore.<p>

Nazran immediately navigated out of the fog again and drove towards the coast of Great Bay again. At least our heroes could breathe in peace again … well … at least for a short while.  
>After about ten minutes Nazran left the fog and were on the (more or less) clear ocean again. It was still dark and raining a lot … but the coast of Great Bay was in sight … but this was not the only thing they saw …<p>

"_Oh my … what in the name of Nayru is that thing over Clock-Town?"_ said Cremia and looked with a shocked face into the sky over Clock-Town.  
><em>"Sis … I am so scared … Termina looks so creepy right now …"<em> said Romani, grabbed Cremia's skirt and cuddled it because she the view scared her to the bones.  
><em>"I have never seen something like that before"<em> said Link, who gulped because that thing over Clock-Town means a lot of business.  
><em>"The fuck is this? The fuck is that?"<em> said Joseph and expressed his confusion and fear once more to everyone.  
>Nazran wasn't able to speak at all in this moment … she could only shake her head with an opened mouth and shocked eyes.<p>

Over Clock-Town was a huge light-blue glowing vortex and several drones flew over whole Termina, shooting their energy-projectiles down to the land. It was the same kind of vortex, which Cremia saw earlier before (in chapter 4) … but this time the vortex was way bigger.

What is this mysterious vortex over Clock-Town?  
>What are those insectile drones that fly over Termina and destroy everything?<br>And for what reason do those drones destroy the once so (more or less) peaceful Termina?

**- End of Chapter 24 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **___

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	25. Appetite for Destruction - Part V

_**Notes from the Author: **__Greetings my dear readers. I hope you will enjoy this weekend as much as I do because now it is time for the final part of "Appetite for Destruction".  
>Maybe I will upload a second chapter too, but as I said, that's no promise. Maybe I will finish the artwork for Chapter 1 and update the first chapter as well.<br>I also rewrote the chapter summary to describe the story more accurate for beginners ;P_

_Anyway, please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 25: Appetite for Destruction – Part V -**

**Great-Bay (not far away from the Pinnacle Rock) – About 11:40 PM:** **  
><strong>  
><em> "I hope those drones won't come to us again …"<em> said Nazran to the rest and everyone agreed. Whoever this new and unknown insectile and alien-like enemy was, they were very dangerous and meant a lot of business for every citizen in Termina. After Link, Joseph, Cremia, Romani and Nazran escaped their possible death by Aveil; they had to survive this new enemy as well.  
><em>"Well … the plan with Links light-arrow worked very well. It seems like that those drones are quite blind while it's raining in the dark. They hardly hit anything as we saw in the fortress before. If we remain calm and don't draw their attention to us, we will be save tonight. So we get that going for us, which is nice"<em> said Joseph to everyone.

He was right. The ocean was quite peaceful while they drove towards the coast. Even though there was still that weird light-blue vortex over Clock-Town and drones that shot their projectiles over whole Termina, they had a few minutes to catch their breath again. Our heroes enjoyed the peace for twenty minutes … and arrived at Great Bay coast very soon.

"_Whew, finally we have a solid ground under our feet again"_ said Romani to the rest.  
>"<em>I am glad we survived that hell … and rescued our Cremia from Aveil's claws"<em> said Joseph and smiled at Cremia, who smiled back at him.  
><em>"I don't know how I could ever return the favor in any way to you. I am … I am so glad nobody let his or her life in this fortress. You withstood so much danger for me. Thank you all so much …"<em> said Cremia and wasn't able to thank them enough.  
><em>"I love my sister. Blueberry and Grasshopper loves my sister. Everyone loves my sister. We will always be on your side and go through every danger … always!" <em>said Romani to her sister and caused her to let some tears of joy flow down her cheeks. Romani was such a brave young woman. Even though she was only 12 years old, she had a lot of courage in her. Romani hugged Cremia … and soon Joseph and Link joined the lovely hug too. This time it was Cremia who felt warm and fuzzy inside. She was save again … so the mission, which Link, Romani and Joseph started much earlier, was finally done. Even though some of them nearly lost their lives, everyone was save again and weren't damaged a lot in the end (because of Link's red potions).

"_Well … it's really cool that you rescued Cremia and also that you helped me escaping Aveil's greedy and bloody claws … but I don't think we should stay here all night long. Look up in the sky, we still have that very big problem over our heads …" _interrupted Nazran and pointed up the sky. She was right. It would be very reasonable to move … but … well … actually our heroes didn't know where they should go. If their eyes weren't deceived by something and that what they saw from afar is actually true, then no place in Termina is actually save because of those drones.

"_You're right Nazran. We should move. What about … if we … uhm … if we go back to the ranch? I think it would be the best to hide there and to plan our next steps there"_ suggested Joseph.  
><em>"Hmmm … I agree. While we plan there, I could also cook you something to eat. I guess you are all very hungry …"<em> said Cremia and chuckled. Everyone agreed and our heroes began to run from Great Bay coast towards western Termina Field.

After twenty minutes of walking and running, our five heroes arrived at Termina Field … and couldn't believe their eyes anymore.  
><em>"Oh … my … this is just … so sad … please tell me that this … that this is not true …"<em> said Cremia and tears flew down her cheeks again … but this time the tears were not because of joy.  
><em>"Unfortunately … this is the cold hard truth. This is sad indeed … but we have to move, Cremia"<em> said Nazran to Cremia and put her hand on Cremia's shoulder.  
><em>"Sister … please don't stand still. Nazran is right. We have to move. Or we will be destroyed too" <em>said Romani to Cremia, took her hand and tried to drag her towards Milk-Road.

Our female heroes looked together at Clock-Town … or what was left from Clock-Town. The outer wall was nearly destroyed completely and most buildings burned or were already destroyed. Several corpses lay next to the destroyed walls and the western entrance … leaving nothing behind but burned bodies and puddles of blood. Some corpses looked familiar. Some construction workers didn't survive and several soldiers tried to escort the refugees but failed in defending them. Even the children like the Bombers tried to escape but got killed. The view was extremely depressing for everyone. Everything and everyone they knew and they loved … got destroyed by flying insectile drones or killed by other insectile creatures.  
>While Cremia bemoaned the loss of Clock-Town and its citizens and while she felt into deep sorrow, Nazran and Romani tried to move Cremia towards Milk-Road, but she stood there paralyzed. Link and Joseph didn't look at Clock Town but what's over it in the sky.<p>

Over Clock-Town was still that weird and huge, light-blue-glowing vortex … and several drones that flight over whole Termina. But this vortex wasn't just a strange cloud that glowed blue and rotated … it also had something other weird on (or in) it.  
><em>"Link, do you see it? The center of the vortex …"<em> said Joseph to Link and pointed at it.  
><em>"It looks quite clean compared to the rest of the vortex. But this is for sure not the sky of Termina. Could it be that …"<em> said Link.  
><em>"… That this is some kind of portal?"<em> finished Joseph.

Link and Joseph were right. The center of the vortex was quite clear and visible unlike the rest of the vortex, which was quite stormy, glowing and cloudy compared to the center. Also it wasn't raining over Clock-Town, which was weird too. In the center of the vortex, they saw something that looked like some weird kind of buildings … but they were upside down and on solid ground. The drones that attacked Termina flew through the center of the vortex and disappeared in those buildings. Or they started from those buildings and entered Termina through the portal. At the center of the insectile and upside-down city was a huge tower that made weird noises. Whatever that weird city was … it meant nothing good.

Link and Joseph weren't idle … they sneaked slowly towards Milk-Road. Cremia was still paralyzed because of the terrible view. The view was just too painful for her eyes and her heart. Nazran's and Romani's attempts to bring her to movement miserably failed.  
><em>"What are our girls doing? They shouldn't waste so much time…"<em> said Link to Joseph … and both ran back to them.  
>After they met the rest of the group again, Joseph stood in front of Cremia and looked into her glassy, sad and fearful eyes. The vortex, the destruction, the corpses, the blood, the drones … everything scared Cremia to her bones … and depressed her a lot, which caused her paralyze.<p>

"_Cremia, please. Romani is right, we have to move or we will face the same destiny like the other ones…"_ said Joseph to her … but didn't realize his words. Several tears flow down her cheeks and she wasn't able to speak in this moment. Nothing worked. Cremia's sadness was overwhelming again.  
>So he took a deep breath and tried something else. Suddenly Joseph remembered a song text that he'd heard before. Maybe this could help her.<br>Joseph hugged Cremia and said into her long right ear:  
><em>"Cremia, please … listen to me. I … I know life is hard with its ups and downs … with happy smiles and tearful frowns. Life is hard when the end is near … when courage fails and faces fear. Life is hard when you try and try; you're still grounded and cannot fly. Life is hard and sometimes you feel like hope isn't real. But even when life is hard … someday we will see: Good times will come … for both … you … and me …"<em>

These simple and poetic words from the song text caused Cremia to come back to reality again. She answered his hug by putting her hands on his back … and Cremia's mouth formed to a smile for a couple of seconds again.  
><em>"It is so hard to lose everything you loved. But maybe you're right. I shouldn't give up so fast. But I … I was always the weakest of us. I was always the person who got attacked and couldn't defend myself … and could only be a coward … maybe I am just a burden to everyone …"<em> said Cremia and released her sorrowed mind.  
><em>"That's bullshit, Cremia! You are not weak. You cared for your ranch and your sister since your father died. You worked so hard just to give everyone their milk and to care for your sister's life … and the work on the ranch is not that easy as I have experienced until now if you don't have someone who help you. You are a strong and brave and lovely and reasonable … and beautiful person. Probably you are the strongest and bravest woman in my age that I know. So don't say something like that to yourself!"<em> answered Joseph while holding her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. After a few moments of pure silence, Cremia smiled, took a deep breath and said:  
><em>"… Thank you, Joseph. Thank you all. You are the best friends a person could ever imagine" <em>

After Cremia was freed from her paralyze again, our five heroes immediately began to move again. Drones flew over Termina and shot their projectiles all over the land, the rain soaked our heroes and Clock-Town still burned.  
>But after everyone regained some courage again, they moved towards Milk-Road and arrived there after about half an hour of sneaking. Link said to the rest:<br>_"Okay, so far so good. If we continue sneaking, we should arrive at the ranch in about thirty more minu…"_

*boom* … Link's sentence got interrupted by something … but this time it was no explosion. The boom was not bright and not that loud at all. Everyone turned around and saw not an explosion but a large beast that looked very weird.  
><em>"What the heck is that?"<em> said Link.  
><em>"What the fuck is that thing?"<em> said Joseph.  
><em>"Oh my … what in the name of Nayru is that?"<em> said Cremia.  
><em>"What is this creepy beast? Romani is scared!"<em> said Romani.  
><em>"Whatever it is, we shouldn't await a bunch of flowers from that beast!"<em> said Nazran.

Link put out his sword and Nazran put out her saber. Romani had no arrows left, so she hided together with Cremia and Joseph.  
>The creepy beast looked insectile like the drones did, but this one had a big "head" which looked kind of mechanical at some parts. Some parts also glowed in a dangerous purple and were connected with something like hoses. It also had a smaller head attached to the bigger head, which contained several eyes, some claws and a mouth. The beast walked with six legs, which looked quite insectile as well … and the beast was tall. It was about two and a half meters tall (8 feet and 2.4 inches) and looked very dangerous.<p>

Whatever that beast was, it was endangering the lives of our five heroes again in Milk-Road.  
>How can our five heroes even defeat that insectile alien-like beast with six legs?<br>Will they even get to the ranch safely or will someone get killed by the beast before?  
>And what was that rustle in the bushes behind that beast?<p>

**- End of Chapter 25 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__Yes, I will draw an artwork for that beast too ;)  
>I also finished the pencil-drawing for the drones. You will soon know how those drones looks like.<em>

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	26. The Fellowship of the Ranch-Sisters

_**Notes from the Author: **__For better imagination: "The beast" looks a bit like this:____ art/Adopt-a-pet-100858626  
>But it's not the same one. I will draw how it actually looks like later ;)<em>

_Anyway, please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 26: The Fellowship of the Ranch-Sisters -**

**Milk-Road – About 0:55 AM:**

"_Link, you attack on the left and I will attack on the right. Hopefully this oversized ladybug won't understand our language" _said Nazran to Link and both began to run to said sides. The beast's smaller head moved very fast to the left and to the right to see Link's and Nazran's movements at the same time.  
>The split-up worried the beast … were they about to attack? The beast moved backwards and screamed in a highly-pitched insectile noise to scare its attackers. But even though the scream was quite loud and the beast's movements were fast, our Link and our Nazran didn't lose their courage.<p>

Suddenly the beast turned to Link, stomped its legs into the muddy ground and … and made a charging sound. It was the same highly-pitched sound that also came from the drones before they …

***boom***… the mysterious and tall insectile beast shot an energy-projectile out of its bigger head towards Link … but fortunately it missed. The projectile hit the rocky wall of the Milk-Road instead and shot a large crater in it with an impressive explosion. Those projectiles were very forceful and could easily pulverize anything it hit.

While the beast concentrated on Link, Nazran tried to attack it from behind. Nazran hit the larger head of the beast … but her sword repelled from the hard surface. Strange … the surface looked quite organic. Why was it so hard?  
>Nazran tried something else. Maybe the legs are unarmored. Nazran swung her saber with her most forceful strike she was able to … but her sword repelled like it did with the head, leaving only a scratch behind<em>. "What the …?"<em> asked Nazran herself because of the strong armor the beast had.

The beast recognized Nazran's failed attacks and immediately turned to Nazran. It released its legs from the ground and attacked Nazran with its insectile and strong legs. Nazran was able to dodge the first strike … but failed at the second strike. One of the beast's legs hit Nazran and threw her a few meters through the air. Nazran lost her saber while she flight backwards to Cremia, Romani and Joseph and landed on her stomach with the face on the muddy ground.  
><em>"Ouch … that hurt …"<em> was the only thing she said while she stood up again.

The beast then turned to Link again after it released another scream. It jumped a few meters back again and charged itself for a second and third shot. The second energy-projectile hit the rocky wall again and caused it to collapse even more. The third energy-projectile hit the floor and made another crater in the ground after dirt and grass flew through the air. The ground burned because of the forceful explosion … even though it was still raining a lot.

After Link dodged every shot, the beast released its legs from the ground again and tried to attack Link with its legs too … but Link had more fighting experience than Nazran, even though the boy was only 12 years old. Dodging its leg-attacks was quite easy for Link.  
>Suddenly a few stones hit the side of the beast's bigger heads.<br>_"I am over here, you coward!"_ shouted Nazran and tried to get its attention again.

The beast reacted and crawled towards Nazran. Another charging sound could be heard while it crawled and it shot another projectile at Nazran, who got nearly hit by the projectile but fortunately dodged it. Luckily the weather was bad and it was dark … so the beast was quite blind like those weird drones. Suddenly the beast didn't attacked Link or Nazran anymore … it crawled towards Cremia, Romani and Joseph, who were still unarmed.  
>Oh no … this doesn't look good. It came closer and closer … and the attempts from Link and Nazran to get its attention again failed.<p>

The beast stood a few meters in front of our two ranch-sisters and our electrical-engineer … and already moved its claws. Maybe the beast was hungry and wanted to eat "fast-food" … because they had nothing to protect themselves. The one who looked the tastiest was Cremia. So the beast moved its head towards Cremia and …

"_Aaaaaaaaah!"_ screamed Cremia in her most highly-pitched voice she was able to. The scream was so loud and so powerful … the beast moved backwards and shook its head around because of the pain it its ears. Even Joseph and Romani held their ears to protect them from Cremia's powerful scream. Nobody of our heroes has ever heard someone, who was screaming louder, before. The scream caused the beast to move back. Was Cremia's voice really so powerful? Before the peaceful ranch-life was interrupted by pirates and insectile aliens, she used to sing to her cows while she was milking them or she sang to furious horses to calm them down … her voice is very beautiful and calming indeed.  
>But now … she used her voice to scare a 2.50 meters tall beast away from Romani, Joseph and herself. Maybe this was her strongest weapon … her own voice.<p>

After the beast moved backwards and got scared by the 1.73 meters tall human, it felt another stones hitting its back … but this time Link and Nazran stood to its left and right.  
><em>"Hey you … we are here … come and get us if you dare …"<em> said an unknown voice. It sounded like it was from a little boy.  
><em>"You are so stupid … you won't get us … hahaha"<em> said another unknown voice. It also sounded like it was from a little boy … but it was someone else.  
>Link and Nazran turned around and saw who was courageous enough to shoot at the beast … the two fearless boys were the Bomber kids … well at least two of them … and they shot with their slingshots at the giant beast.<p>

The beast turned and moved towards the fearless Bombers. The Bombers moved back too and the beast was following them. It charged for another shot but missed the swift Bombers too.  
>Link used the time to jump on its back. He grabbed the hoses and cables from the beast and used them to climb on top of its bigger head. After Link was on top, he slid down to the smaller head, held his sword in the air and pushed his sword into its head so powerfully … like the beast would be Ganondorf himself.<p>

After a few loud screams from the beast, Link removed his sword and jumped down to the ground. The beast collapsed and red-greenish blood flow out of its head. It was done. The beast was defeated. Our heroes could catch their breath again and enjoy their victory over that weird beast for a couple of seconds.

"_Good job, Link. Couldn't have done it better_" said one of the Bombers and laughed slightly.  
>The group reunited and was complete again … but this time the group was even bigger … and they could finally move to the ranch like they decided a few hours before.<br>_"Hey … I know you two. I know you from Anju's wedding. You were playing with Romani and Link on the playground, weren't you?"_ asked Joseph and greeted the Bombers.  
><em>"Nice to see you again! Romani is glad you are helping us!" <em>said Romani to the two Bombers.  
><em>"Isn't it a bit dangerous to be here so alone?"<em> asked Cremia.  
><em>"Well, now we aren't alone anymore"<em> said one of the Bombers and laughed.  
><em>"But aren't there five of you?"<em> asked Link. He was right; only two Bombers came to the group instead of five.

"_Well … uhm … unfortunately … we are the … the only ones that survived. The rest of us … got killed by those beasts after we tried to escort the citizens of Clock-Town through the southern gate. We hided in the high grass and saw you. So we followed you …"_ said one of the Bombers and looked in a sad glimpse. The loss of the other members of the "Bombers Secret Society of Justice" made him sad for good reasons.  
><em>"This new enemy is so cruel. Killing everyone and destroying everyone for no reason. They have to pay!"<em> said Romani and caused a few moments of silence while they walked towards Romani Ranch.

"_What are your real names by the way?"_ asked Cremia the two Bomber kids.  
><em>"I am Jim, the boss of the Bombers"<em> said the Bomber kid with the red bandana.  
><em>"I am Tim, the number three in the Society of Justice"<em> said the other Bomber kid with the blue bandana.  
>After they introduced themselves and each other, our seven heroes named Cremia, Joseph, Link, Romani, Nazran, Jim and Tim walked to the Romani Ranch and arrived at the ranch in thirty more minutes.<p>

But what they saw … was painful for everyone's heart. The ranch-house … nothing from it was left but a pile of debris and burned planks … only a devastated ruin was left. Not only was the ranch-house destroyed. The stable was destroyed too and Cremia's special-bred cows were squashed under the pile of debris … leaving no one of the cows alive.  
>Cremia ran to the stable and couldn't believe her eyes anymore. She fell down to her knees … released her last tears and let them flow down her cheeks … and released her tortured heart followed by a painful scream.<p>

_"Noooooooooo!"_ screamed Cremia and let herself fall down to the dirty ground … huddled … and crying. Everything was lost. Everything that her ancestors had built up before … it was destroyed. Every cow was squashed … she wasn't able to sell milk and Chateau anymore … and would die in poverty very soon.  
>Her house was destroyed too. She had no place to sleep … to cook … to live with her sister together in peace anymore. Everything was lost … everything she worked so hard for … it was gone. It was very understandable why Cremia cried her soul out of her body at this moment.<p>

Romani, who stood between Joseph and Nazran at this moment, moved next to her sister and also began to weep a lot. She shared the pain of her sister and also fell down to her knees … and held her hands in front of her crying face.  
><em>"Our home … it is destroyed. Romani and Sister have lost everything … but we haven't done anything evil to anyone … why is this happening to us all?"<em> asked our distraught younger ranch-girl herself.

Link, Nazran, Joseph, Jim and Tim remained silent … the destroyed ranch-buildings left them speechless and they could do nothing but standing in the rain and watch Romani and Cremia crying their souls out of their bodies. Another sixty minutes passed by and Cremia and Romani weren't able to calm down. The other five moved under the horse stable, which was quite intact. At least something protected them from the cold rain. Joseph and Link tried to comfort the ranch-sisters twice but failed this time miserably. Joseph used some sticks and his pullover to build some kind of umbrella for Cremia and Romani and stabbed it next to them in the ground … to give them rain-protection too.

Whatever our heroes tried, the sorrow was way too strong to comfort them in any way.  
>But soon a unknown voice asked Cremia: <em>"Your … your ranch too?"<em>  
>Well, the voice was not that unknown for Cremia, Romani, Link and Joseph, because they already met the person before.<br>Cremia and Romani noticed the voice, suppressed their crying for a few moments, stood up and turned around. It was a man with a large moustache and a quite ugly face … but this face shared the expression of sorrow and sadness with the sisters.  
>It was the older Gorman-Brother, whom Cremia, Joseph, Link and Romani spared before.<p>

"_Don't … touch them!"_ screamed Link, who spotted the Gorman through the darkness and ran to them with his drawn sword.  
><em>"No … please … I … I am not interested in harming her … I … I understand how she feels right now …" <em>said Gorman to Link. Then he turned to Cremia and Romani and looked deep into their eyes. The view-exchange already said enough what happened. Gorman began to weep too and tried to explain everything to Cremia and Romani but also Link, Joseph, Nazran and the Bombers Jim and Tim.

"_I lost everything like you do, Cremia, but … but you have one thing that you didn't lose …"_ said Gorman to Cremia … and turned his eyes to our young archer named Romani.  
><em>"You … you lost your … your younger brother?"<em> asked Cremia. Her question caused the Gorman to nod and to release his sorrow as well. He felt on his knees in front of Cremia and several tears flow down his cheeks as well.  
><em>"He was right … l-losing your s-siblings is so c-cruel … and I also lost my h-home … I … I am so sorry that I attacked you all before … that was so stupid …"<em> said the Gorman in a stuttering voice and looked to Joseph, whom he thanked before.

The arrival and apologize of the older Gorman-Brother calmed Cremia and Romani from their sorrow somehow … well at least for a little bit. This war against the unknown enemy turned one of the biggest rivals and enemies of the Romani-family to an ally.  
>The Cremia held Romani in her arms and both looked at the other ones that stood all in front of her.<br>At least Cremia and Romani were not alone in these darkest hours. The presence of Link, Joseph, Nazran, Jim, Tim and Gorman calmed them somehow.

After two minutes of talking to the ranch-sisters to comfort them, Nazran looked up the hill and noticed something.  
><em>"Guys … somebody is watching us …"<em> said Nazran to the rest and pointed to the hill. The night was quite dark but somehow they managed to see two silhouettes trough the heavy rain and creepy darkness … and the silhouettes came closer and closer.  
>Link drew his sword and Nazran drew her saber. Joseph walked to the destroyed cow-stable and took the axe, which was next to the stable. Who is coming now? Whoever it is, Link, Nazran and Joseph awaited them.<p>

"_We come in peace … please don't attack us …"_ said a well known female voice through the darkness while the silhouettes came closer and closer.  
><em>"Romani Ranch got destroyed too … this is so sad …"<em> said a well known male voice through the darkness … and soon the silhouettes were visible people.

"_Anju! Kafei! You survived too!"_ said Link to them and put his sword away. Clock-Towns newest married couple survived the dangerous drones and beasts too.  
><em>"Oh Anju … I am so glad that you survived!"<em> said Cremia and hugged Anju.  
><em>"I can say the same about you, Cremia. Link, Romani and Joseph told me about your abduction to the pirate-fortress. To see you alive means that their mission was a huge success"<em> said Anju to Cremia while hugging.

To see Anju and Kafei … her oldest best friends … alive calmed Cremia a lot.  
><em>"I have no idea what happened after the pirate-fortress. Suddenly everything got attacked by some weird flying things and explosions lit the night everywhere …"<em> said Cremia to Anju but also the rest of the group.  
><em>"Well, Kafei and I went for a walk to the swamp to enjoy the rest of the day together … and after we decided to go home … a strange cloud formed over Clock-Town and several flying things came out of that vortex. Clock-Town was burning in less than one hour and whole Termina suffered from those beasts and flying things … it is so cruel …"<em> answered Anju.  
><em>"This is cruel indeed … we lost everything we ever loved … for no reason at all. I have no idea where we should go now … and if we ever survive this mess …"<em> said Cremia to everyone and released her sorrow again.

After Cremia began to weep again, Romani took a deep breath and walked in front of Cremia. The younger ranch-sister hugged the older one and said:  
><em>"Sis, wherever you will go, wherever we have to go … we will follow you and be on your side. Nobody destroys something from the Romani-Family without paying for it, Romani promises!"<em>

Link and Joseph moved in front of Cremia as well.  
><em>"Wherever we go, I will assist you in any way. You have my sword …"<em> said Link and drew his sword.  
><em>"… and my bow!"<em> said Romani, who was still hugging Cremia.  
><em>"… and my axe!"<em> said Joseph, who held the axe from the Romani-Family.

"_Our eyes and slingshots may also be your eyes and slingshots …"_ said the Bombers Jim and Tim and smiled at Cremia.  
><em>"The power of the Gerudo may assist you as well, Cremia. My saber will defend your back"<em> said Nazran and smiled at Cremia as well.  
><em>"I think it is time to end the eternal rivalry between Gorman and Romani. In situations like these, enmity shouldn't exist at all"<em> said Gorman and grabbed a pitchfork that lay next to the destroyed cow-stable.  
><em>"Cremia, nothing can destroy our friendship … not even some weird oversized insects. I will assist you wherever I can" <em>said Anju and hugged Cremia as well.  
><em>"And wherever my wife and my friend are in danger, I will come and defend them at all cost"<em> said Kafei and smiled at Cremia as well.

"_Thank you … thank you so much … I will help everyone wherever I can too!"_ said Cremia and stormed her sorrow with the power of friendship.  
><em>"Nobody will mess with us! The fellowship of the Romani-Ranch!"<em> said Joseph to them and everyone laughed. A group of ten people was united to fight against the enemy wherever they can … to defend what they love. The courage, wisdom and power was strong in Anju, Cremia, Gorman, Jim, Joseph, Kafei, Link, Nazran, Romani and Tim.

"_Okay, listen up. I have an idea where we should go next"_ said Gorman to the rest.  
>What could he have planned?<br>Will the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch be victorious against that new enemy?  
>And who is this new enemy at all? <p>

**- End of Chapter 26 -**

_**Notes from the Author: **__I want to say special thanks to every person, who is reviewing. Every review motivates me to write even more and more :D_

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	27. Tactics and Honesty

_**Notes from the Author: **__Hello my dear readers! Sorry for letting you wait for so long, but I was so busy in the last days that I didn't have the chance to write and upload another chapter. But as I said to you, I will write one chapter every three days or less. Today is day three, so it is my duty to upload another chapter (and personally I want to continue the story as well). ;)_

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 27: Tactics and Honesty -**

**Romani Ranch (or what's left from it …) – About 3:15 AM:**

"_Now you made me really curious. What's your plan, Gorman?"_ asked Kafei and looked at him with curious but skeptical eyes. What could the man with the gigantic moustache have planned for the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch? Whatever his plan was, he should hurry … because everyone was hungry and tired. Actually this was probably one of the most exhausting days for everyone in Termina. No wonder, it was already about 3:15 in the morning.

Our four original heroes Link, Romani, Cremia and Joseph had to survive a crazy and aggressive pirate queen in the afternoon; they had to escape an invasion of weird insectile invaders in the evening only to see everything they had ever loved burning in the middle of the night.  
>Meanwhile Gorman lost his little brother and his whole home.<br>Kafei and Anju nearly shared the deadly destiny of most Terminan inhabitants of Clock-Town because they wouldn't have survived if they hadn't decided to go for a walk earlier.  
>The Bombers Jim and Tim also lost three of their best friends and saw Clock-Town, which they promised to defend at all cost, burning in a bright firestorm.<br>The Gerudo Nazran used the chance to escape the greedy and bloody claws of Aveil by helping two young and friendly milk-ranchers, a lovely boy with amazing sword-fighting skills and a man who was asking a lot of questions and whom Nazran and every other Gerudo considered as attractive.

"_Come on, just tell us what you have planned!"_ said Link to Gorman. Everyone of the Fellowship was already very curious and stood in a circle together with the older Gorman-Brother while they got soaked even more in the rain.  
><em>"Okay listen up. What I tell you now is a secret of the Gorman-Family … but … in times like these … I think I should trust you. I know a place, where we could be save from those weird new enemy. It is a secret place in the center of the Darkwood-Forest. We Gorman used this place a long time ago as a hideout for … well … for our stolen things … b-but now this place is only used as a bunker, I promise! If we go there and arrive before the flying things find us, we will be save there and could rest for a few days until we planned our next steps …"<em> said the Gorman in a stuttering but honest voice and caused everyone to look at each other.

This plan was quite bold. Our already exhausted ten heroes had to sneak to the border between Termina-Field and the Darkwood-Forest in the south-east and after they would have arrived there, they still had to walk through an eerie and dark forest. Yes, the Darkwood-Forest is the forest, where Joseph arrived in Termina and had to run for his life after he walked through it in fear for a couple of hours. Not everyone agreed with Gorman's bold idea. It was very dangerous to go through this forest, even for our armed and courageous ten heroes.

"_I am not really happy with that idea. I mean it is a suggestion, but …"_ answered Cremia to Gorman and imparted him her doubts.  
><em>"I believe sis is right. We are all so tired and walking even more while being exhausted would endanger us even more …"<em> said Romani while she still hugged Cremia's skirt.  
><em>"Me neither. The way to and through the forest is way too dangerous. I hope you didn't forget that weird things fly over us and could kill us instantly … and the forest is not that safer …"<em> said Anju and was against Gorman's plan as well.

"_I don't really think that those drones will be a big problem right now …"_ said Joseph while looking towards the vortex over Clock-Town.  
>Everyone turned to Joseph and awaited a good explanation for his statement … particularly Cremia, Romani and Anju.<br>_"Look to the vortex … several purple lights fly to it. Maybe those airstrikes are over now. Also it's still raining a lot and dark for some more hours, so we have Mother Nature still on our side"_.  
><em>"I am sorry Anju, Cremia and Romani but I have to agree with Gorman and Joseph. We shouldn't stay here for too long. The night will soon be over in a few hours and the raining is getting weaker too …"<em> said Kafei and dared to be against his wife's and two of his best friends' opinion.  
><em>"I agree with them too. We could rest in that bunker after we arrive there, but we shouldn't stand here and be an easy meal for those oversized ladybugs"<em> said Nazran to the other redheads.

The older ones, who were either adult or adolescent discussed for about ten more minutes while the younger ones like the Bombers and Link remained silent. After the discussion that changed their lives forever, everyone made the compromise that they will immediately go to the bunker … because it is the better option. The drones aren't attacking that much anymore and if the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch sneak to and through the forest like they would be invisible, it would be much safer than just resting next to the ranch-ruins, getting soaked and probably killed in the morning.  
>After everyone gathered some useful materials from what's left from the ranch and everyone was equipped, our ten heroes stood under the still intact sign, which said: "Welcome to Romani-Ranch!" in Terminan letters. Everyone took a deep breath and sneaked towards Termina-Field together.<p>

The night remained quite calm while they walked through the devastated landscape of Termina. The corpse of the six-legged beast, which got killed by Link and Nazran before, still lay on the muddy and bloody road. While they walked through Milk-Road, our heroes talked to each other to get to know each other better … also the conversations helped them to distract them from the death and devastation they had seen before … well at least for a little bit.

_"Joseph, may I ask you something?"_ asked Nazran our Joseph, who nodded back at her.  
><em>"Are you a Gerudo? Or where are you from at all? Because it is very rare to see a person with round ears, white skin and non-red hair in Termina. Well … to be honest … you are the only one I've ever seen"<em> asked Nazran, who had long red hair and a darker skin like every Gerudo had. Nazran wore the same kind of clothes than every Gerudo-Soldier … but hers were different because they were green instead of purple.  
><em>"I am from Europe … and let me guess: You've never heard of it, right?"<em> answered Joseph and surprised Nazran with that answer because his guess was right; she never had heard of Europe before. Joseph always mentioned Europe instead of the country where he's actually from. That's because he thinks Europe should unite to a unified state instead of being separated … but that's an opinion that only Joseph had in his school and his circle of friends.

_"True, I've never heard of it. But let me make a guess too: Aveil and the other Gerudo were quite interested in you, weren't they?"_ asked Nazran.  
><em>"Hmmm … actually … I guess so. Aveil kissed me and said she had … plans … with me. But I don't really understand why …"<em> answered Joseph.  
><em>"Well, that's because we consider people with round ears as attractive. You have round ears and the rest of you is beautiful as well, so you are automatically attractive for us …"<em> answered Nazran and Joseph got a bit nervous because of her honest compliment.  
><em>"Well … thanks for the compliment, Nazran. But I don't understand that kind of logic. Oh wait … right … well … never mind. Cremia once said to me that the people of Clock-Town consider people with red hairs as thieves and killers, so every Redhead is automatically unattractive for them. Hmmm … well … Termina is very weird in that case … prejudices … prejudices everywhere!"<em> answered Joseph and tried to answer some of his own questions concerning the beauty standards in Termina.  
><em>"Well Joseph, do you think in the same way like the people of Clock-Town?"<em> asked Nazran with a curious voice.  
><em>"No I d-don't! I think people with red hair are beautiful … and I don't judge over their personality just because of their hair color. Doing that is bullshit in my opinion. Well … uhm … and I think C-Cremia, Romani, Anju and you are evidence enough for beautiful and friendly women … hehehe … he …<em>" answered Joseph in a shy voice.

His shy but honest answer made Nazran chuckle and blush. Romani smiled because of his compliment and said_: "Yay! Blueberry thinks Romani is beautiful!"_  
>Cremia smiled even more than Romani but had mixed feelings about his compliment. On one side his answer proved to her that her foreign friend isn't so close-minded like most people in Clock-Town; also considering Cremia and her little sister as beautiful was a very rare compliment for them, because in the eyes of most people, the ranchers only looked "below average". On the other side Cremia also felt the same feeling she had when Aveil kissed Joseph … but this time it was not that intensive. But even when she had those mixed feelings, it helped Cremia to smile again and to forget the pain for a few seconds.<p>

"_Hehehe … thank you, Joseph … I guess"_ said Anju to Joseph and laughed slightly.  
><em>"I think Joseph is right again. Look at you Anju. You are one of the most beautiful women in whole Termina …"<em> said Kafei to his wife and made her blush a lot.  
>"<em>Oh Kafei … now you are exaggerating …"<em> answered Anju with red cheeks.  
><em>"… and I love you so much"<em> finished Kafei and kissed Anju.  
>This whispering of sweet nothings awaked old and forgotten but unpleasant feelings in Cremia and caused her to sigh.<br>Cremia hoped a lot to suppress those painful feelings and to lock them up behind a veil in her heart.  
>But Anju and Kafei … they awakened those feelings of unfulfilled love and envy in her again.<br>_"Right … that's it! I won't let it happen again …"_ thought our Cremia … but what did she exactly thought? What would she not let happen again? Well … uhm … I actually can't tell you either. Woman can be complicated sometimes, but whatever she thought, it would change her life forever.

"_Mister Gorman. Romani is glad that you are helping us now. But why now? I always thought you hate Romani and my sister"_ asked Romani our Gorman.  
><em>"Well, young Romani. After we attacked you and after you caught me and after your sister slapped me and after I saw your sad eyes and after you spared me, I rethought my whole life. I think your friend was right. Losing my own brother would break my heart … and … well … it really did hurt to hold his dead corpse in my hands. We thought about attacking you again but I refused to help him this time. I think maybe if we, the Romani and the Gorman, corporate … we could do things better together. I really had to fight against my own mind in thinking such things … but now … now with the death of my brother … my whole world changed. We always were envy that you are selling milk so well and we always tried to sabotage you … but now I want to help you in return"<em> answered Gorman in a stuttering and nervous voice. He tried to be honest this time and didn't expect Cremia's answer.  
><em>"I … I forgive you. Maybe, when this cruel war is over, we could work together … it would be an honor to end our tensions forever"<em> answered Cremia.  
><em>"Yay! More friends! Romani likes it when she has friends to play with!"<em> said Romani.

Link turned to Romani and smiled at her. Even in sad times like those, Romani tried to be happy … and somehow she managed it. But how?  
><em>"What's up, Grasshopper? Does Romani has dirt in her face?"<em> said Romani to Link, who looked at her for several seconds.  
><em>"Oh uhm … n-no you don't. I am just wondering how you manage it to be such energetic and joyful all the time"<em> said Link and asked her his thoughts.  
><em>"Romani feels actually quite sad, but she tries to focus on things that make her happy. For example to have her sister next to her or to talk to friends like Grasshopper. It also makes Romani happy to have a bow and arrows to protect what she loves … and Romani loves her family, her friends and her land a lot. I also want to help everyone. No one deserved it to get destroyed by <em>_**them**__"_ said Romani to Link and touched everyone's heart.

"_You act very adult for your age, Romani"_ said Jim while.  
><em>"Romani is an adult. Sister recognized me as one"<em> answered Romani.  
>While the group walked towards south-eastern Termina-Field, the Bombers were quiet all the time because they watched the surroundings for possible dangers with so much concentration.<p>

After one and a half hour of talking and walking, our ten heroes arrived at their target.

"_Okay, this is the border to the Darkwood-Forest. Fortunately those beasts remain quite calm, even though that vortex seems to be still active and drones fly around it. Right, everyone get his or her weapon ready, this forest won't be a Sunday stroll …"_ said Gorman to the rest while they stood in front of the forest.  
><em>"Nope nope nope nope nope … not this damn forest again!"<em> thought Joseph and shook his head, but gathered his courage again and readied his axe for their next steps.  
><em>"Whatever will expect us, we will be ready for it …"<em> said Link and drew his sword.  
><em>"… and if something dares to attack us, Romani strikes back!"<em> said Romani and drew an arrow out of her quiver.  
><em>"… and Nazran will strike back as well!"<em> said Nazran, smiled at Romani and drew her saber.  
><em>"May the goddesses be on our side for one more time …"<em> said Cremia and prayed to them for a few seconds before they entered the eerie forest.  
><em>"I hope nothing bad will happen in that forest …"<em> said Anju and prayed like Cremia did.  
><em>"Whenever someone or something will threaten us, he will feel my rage …"<em> said Kafei and tried to calm his fearful wife.  
><em>"… and our slingshots!"<em> said Jim and Tim at the same time to Anju.

What will our ten heroes see in the Darkwood-Forest … or "Forest of Nope" together?  
>Are the missing airstrikes just the silence before the storm?<br>And where is Batman?

**- End of Chapter 27-**

_**Notes from the Author: **___

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	28. Darkness, Wetness and Nope

_**Notes from the Author: **__Sorry for letting you wait for so long again. Only two chapters this week … this is pretty weak in my opinion. As a compensation for the lack of chapters, I will write and upload one chapter every day in the upcoming week (except for Tuesday because I planned a lot of stuff on that day). I want the story to continue and my promise will help me with that desire ;P  
>So prepare your eyes for reading!<em>

_I am also nearly finished with the artwork for chapter one, so in the upcoming week, I will update chapter one as well! :)  
>(The artwork was also one of the reasons why I was busy in the last days)<em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun here too!_  
><em>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**- Chapter 28: Darkness, Wetness and Nope -**

**South-Western Termina-Field – A few hours before dawn:**

"_Wait! I have something that could be useful now …"_ said Anju and everyone turned back to her before they finally entered the forest. Anju held some … kind of torches in her hands. Oh right, before they sneaked towards South-Western Termina-Field, they gathered some useful materials and equipment from the Ranch … or what was left from it. For example Gorman took one of Cremia's pitchforks as a weapon and Anju took some sticks out of Cremia's firewood and wrapped some cloth around it.

"_Oh my … torches! Now that's what I call useful right now. Thank you a lot Anju!"_ said Cremia and Anju handed out some of her improvised torches. Gorman, Nazran, Cremia, Kafei and Joseph got two torches, one to light it immediately and one as a reserve.

The view was much better after the torches were lit and the fire warmed them too. Also the rain became weaker. Under the tall trees, our ten heroes were protected against the cold rain and maybe against the eyes of the drones and their devastating energy projectiles as well.  
>Our heroes walked through the eerie, wet and dark forest carefully. Not to fast because they could make alarming noises but nor to slow because maybe something had them already in its sights, somewhere, ready to strike for a tasty dinner.<p>

"_I hope you know where you are going, Gorman"_ said Kafei to Gorman. The forest had its usual woody and wet scent in the air ... and this time the forest seemed to be even darker than Joseph had experienced it before.  
><em>"Don't worry, I always know what I am doing. Just trust me, be careful and don't stop walking and we will be in a save spot very soon …"<em> answered Gorman to the distrustful Kafei. Gorman's answer caused Anju to think … and imagine the worst. She moved to her lovely husband and whispered in his long ear:  
><em>"Honey, I have doubts. What if that's a trap and Gorman guides us into death?"<em> said Anju with fearful eyes to Kafei, who answered her doubts with a nervous glimpse. What if his wife was right?

"_I am not guiding you into a trap. Okay right! I know I've done bad things before … but I am really not interested in harming you in any way. Please, you can trust me … I won't hurt any of you in any way"_ said Gorman in a slightly angry voice. Interesting was the fact that he'd heard Anju's doubts. He had good ears for sure. But whatever, was the mysterious horse rancher lying? Even if the Gormans used to lie, this time the man with the gigantic moustache said the truth. He was not interested in killing anyone of our heroes. There wouldn't even be any advantage. Quite the contrary, there would only be disadvantages. At this moment, corporation was the only thing that could spare the two redheaded ranchers, the young Hero of Time, the foreign electrical engineer, the mysterious Gerudo-Warrior, the two young heroes of justice, the once thieving horse-rancher and our innocent and lovely couple from death.

The Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch had no other option to trust Gorman and follow him through the dark and eerie forest. While they followed him and were already deep in the forest, Link with his sword, Romani with her bow, Joseph with his axe, Nazran with her saber and the Bombers with their slingshots watched out for possible dangers that could attack the group. Fortunately nothing came closer to the group … fortunate for the enemies because our armed heroes were resolved to protect their lives at all cost, even if they were tired and exhausted as hell.

"_Man, I wish I would have my Smartphone right now. The torches' light is so weak …"_ said Joseph. Anju remembered that Joseph gave her his phone and wallet before they decided to go through the mountains, so our Anju walked next to Joseph and searched his equipment in her bag.  
><em>"Do you mean this?"<em> said Anju while she held his Smartphone and wallet.  
><em>"Yes, exactly what I meant. Thank you Anju!"<em> said Joseph after he took his equipment.  
>He tried to turn the phone on but … unfortunately … it was empty. He used the rest of his battery to make music on Anju's wedding a week before. While he vainly tried to turn the phone on he said <em>"damn!"<em>

"_What's wrong, Blueberry?"_ asked Romani.  
><em>"My phone's battery is empty … I can't make light right now …"<em> answered Joseph.  
>"What's a battery?" asked Romani. Oh … right … nobody really understood the" technologically advanced" terms our Joseph used sometimes. Nobody knew what electricity was, nobody knew what telecommunication via radio-signals meant, nobody understood what the main use of the brick in his hands was.<br>_"Oh … uhm … a battery is a … device where I can store the … the power to make light …" _answered Joseph and tried to prevent the use of terms like energy or electricity.  
><em>"But you didn't make light while you used the smart phone on Anju's wedding"<em> said Romani.  
><em>"I can use this power to make music too. It's the same kind of power and we call it electricity. The electricity is stored in a small … box … in my phone and this box is now empty"<em> answered Joseph. Romani smiled and nodded to his answer. Now it was a bit clearer for Romani …

… but also for everyone else. This device and other stuff from his world still looked like magic for them … but they tried to understand what he was telling them.  
>Cremia, who kept distance to Joseph and Kafei for … well … unknown reasons, listened to Joseph too and finally understood what he'd explained to her earlier. Cremia and Joseph used to sit together on the dinner table of the ranch on the evenings before they went to sleep. They liked to talk to each other and exchange culture and experiences. Even if they only knew each other for about one week, they understood each other like they would have lived together for years. Joseph got dragged to Termina and he still doesn't understand how and why … but he knew he would only survive if he integrated to the culture of Termina and its people. Cremia, Joseph, Romani and Link became friends very fast and lived together in peace on the ranch. But this peace got interrupted on Romani's birthday after Aveil kidnapped Cremia … and now they are in a war against … well … against whom? This enemy is unknown. Nobody has ever seen them before; neither Joseph, who came from Europe and from 2015, nor the people of Termina. Not even Link, who came from Hyrule and already saw a lot of different peoples. Will they ever live in peace again together? The ranch life was ve…<p>

"_What was that?!"_ asked Nazran in a scared voice and interrupted the author in finishing his sentence … but she had good reasons for even daring this.  
><em>"What's wrong?"<em> asked Link. Everyone else looked at her with great expectancy and nervousness.  
><em>"I saw a branch falling down the trees only a few meters away from us …"<em> answered Nazran and tried to calm down. Everyone looked at each other and watched the forest for possible dangers … everyone except Joseph. The other ones hoped that this was just random, but Joseph already knew what the falling branch meant.  
>"<em>Oh no … we are so fucked …"<em> thought Joseph and said: _"Okay everyone listen up! I know what this means. Everyone get his or her weapon ready. We are in great danger right now!"_

Nobody questioned his command … his eyes were evidence enough that he knew for sure what this sign meant. The forest was so dark … Kafei and Nazran lit their second torch and swung it around to light the environment. Also the forest was so wet … the raindrops soaked them until every piece of their clothes were wet … and lighting the torches was way harder because of that. They looked around carefully … but they didn't see anything … at first.

"_Aaaaah!"_ screamed Anju and everyone turned to her. In front of Anju and Kafei stood a giant spider-like beast with eight legs, a lot of different eyes and a back that had the shape of a skull. The beast scared our heroes to their bones and the beast answered Anju's scream with its own scream. Anju and Kafei immediately ran back to the others while Link, Joseph and Nazran tried to attack it with their melee weapons and while Romani, Jim and Tim shot at the skullfaced beast with their long-range weapons.  
>The beast moved fast and the weapons of every fighter failed in hurting the Skulltula.<p>

Link swung his sword at the beast's hard head … but it repelled.  
>Joseph swung his axe at its back … but it repelled.<br>Nazran attacked the leg of the beast … but her saber repelled too … even if her attack left a scratch on the leg.  
>The slingshots didn't hurt the beast in any way and only provoked it.<br>Romani hit the beast with her arrow … and the arrow even stuck in the beast … but somehow it didn't do much damage.

"_Our weapons can't kill it … we have to run … now!"_ said Nazran. She was right … instead of wasting time by fighting, they should move immediately.  
>Everyone focused his or her power into the legs and ran as fast as they could.<br>The beast screamed for a second time and ran after its tasty breakfast.  
>It chased Anju, Cremia, Gorman, Jim, Joseph, Kafei, Link, Nazran, Romani and Tim like it did with Joseph a week before … and sometimes it nearly hit one of the Fellowship-Members with its poison sting. But the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch was too swift for the Skulltula.<p>

After about ten minutes of running and becoming even more exhausted, our heroes were deep into the forest, where the woody and wet scent smelled more intense.  
><em>"Woah …"<em> said Romani and nearly felt down a fissure in the ground. Joseph ran to her and caught her before she felt down the fissure. It was the same fissure that Joseph jumped over before. Everyone else already jumped over the fissure but Romani and Joseph were still on the other side.  
><em>"That was close, Redleaf. Now we should hurr …"<em> tried Joseph to say … but he couldn't finish his sentence because the ground where Romani and Joseph stood collapsed and caused Joseph and Romani to fall down the deep and dark fissure.

Joseph fell first and landed hard on the floor. Fortunately Romani landed soft … because she landed on Joseph. Ouch … that was painful. Breathing was even harder than the landing because a lot of dirt fell down to Joseph and Romani. Luckily no one broke his or her bones. The fissure was "only" about four or five meters deep and the floor was soft because it was muddy and dirty.  
><em>"Ouch … oh god … that hurt!"<em> said Joseph with a painful voice and tried to catch his breath again.  
>"Ouch … uuuh … oh no! Blueberry … everything okay?" said Romani and stood up again, catching her breath too.<br>_"I am okay … I guess. Just a few scratches. What about you?"_ asked Joseph.  
><em>"Romani is okay too. Only dirty but not hurt"<em> answered Romani.

The fissure was even darker than the forest so Joseph lit his second torch and looked around. He also looked up to see if there is an option to climb up again. But there was no option … but a few friendly faces.  
><em>"Oh my … Romani! Joseph! Are you okay?" <em>asked Cremia down from the fissure-edge.  
><em>"Are you hurt?"<em> asked Link, who stood next to Cremia.  
>Anju didn't say anything and only looked in a shocked expression.<br>Kafei and the Bombers tried to search something help Romani and Joseph to climb up the deep fissure again.  
>Nazran and Gorman watched for the Skulltula and protected the Fellowship at all cost.<p>

Will our Redleaf and Blueberry escape the fissure?  
>What about the Skullfaced Killer that still chases the Fellowship?<br>And what's that strange wind that comes from the left side of the fissure?

**- End of Chapter 28-**

_**Notes from the Author: **__If you can read this, you don't need glasses! :)_

One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes.

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	29. The Cave of the Blind Hunters - Part I

_**Notes from the Author: **__Hey reader, be prepared! Chapter 29 is coming at you right now! :)  
>I have nothing else to say.<em>

_Please comment, criticize and have fun!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**-\-\-\ Chapter 29: The Cave of the Blind Hunters – Part 1 /-/-/-**

**Deep inside Darkwood-Forest – A few hours before dawn:**

"_Yes Cremia, we are okay … I guess … and no, we are not hurt … I guess" _answered Joseph to Cremia and Link, who were worried that their friends and family got hurt by the fall.  
><em>"Romani is fine, sis. Blueberry cushioned the fall … hihihi"<em> said Romani and chuckled after she saw the mud-covered Joseph, who looked at her with eyes that asked her _"seriously?"_

"_The rift is quite deep. Are there any possibilities to climb up?"_ asked Joseph and everyone looked around. They lighted the stony and dirty fissure-walls and searched for roots or a wall that gave them the possibility to climb. First there was nothing, but Link already saw something to climb up.  
>Link had the idea to give them his Hookshot, so they could shoot themselves up to a tree … but … well … unfortunately he lost his Hookshot to Aveil, who stole it from him before they had to escape the airstrikes. So his idea was useless right now.<p>

"_Look! Over there!"_ said Link and pointed towards a smaller tree root that hung on the wall.  
>Romani and Joseph went to the root and Romani was the first one to try an escape out of the dark fissure. Step by step climbed our young archer up the dirty wall …<br>_"Oh no … aaah!"_ said Romani suddenly while she climbed up. She recognized that the root was slowly slipping out the wall … and it did.  
>Romani fell down to the muddy and wet ground again … but this time without a soft pillar named Joseph.<br>_"Romani!"_ shouted Cremia down to her. She stood up again and her back was covered in mud. This action was maybe too bold … even for our young Redleaf.  
><em>"Don't worry, sis. Romani is okay …"<em> answered Romani and calmed her older sister.

"_There is no other way to climb up … I guess we have to find another way …"_ said Joseph to his more highly located friends.  
><em>"Unfortunately he is right. I don't see a way up either …"<em> said Kafei, who searched together with the Bombers for a way upside the fissure.  
><em>"We can't wait here for any longer, guys. I heard noises coming from over there …"<em> said Nazran, who watched out together with Gorman for the Skullfaced Killer, to the rest and pointed towards the northern side of the eerie forest.  
><em>"I won't go anywhere without Romani and Joseph!"<em> said Cremia to Nazran in an slightly angry voice.  
><em>"If we don't move, the beast will get us all, don't you understand? It is too dangerous to wait here …"<em> answered Nazran to the worried and stubborn Cremia. This answer was maybe not the best one because it upset Cremia even more. Her love to her family and friends is very strong. A life without her sister … impossible!

"_Cremia, unfortunately she is right! Please run. I … I will watch out for Romani, I promise!"_ shouted Joseph up the fissure.  
>Cremia looked down the fissure and said:<br>_"I won't let you hanging right now! There must be another way up the fissure … I … maybe if we …"_  
><em>"Cremia, please trust me. Do you remember the promise I gave to you in the pirate-fortress? I will protect Romani … like she would be my own daughter … you remember? … And I will protect her with my life if I have to. Please Cremia … trust me … and trust Nazran too …"<em> answered Joseph to Cremia's helplessness.  
>Our Cremia was not really happy about leaving her sister and her friend behind … what if the beast will get them? Imaging that Romani could be a tasty meal for the spider … what cruel thoughts. She nearly lost her sister yesterday to a crazy pirate-queen … but … ah … she had no other choice to trust Joseph, because Nazran and the rest were right. If they don't move now, they will be fast food for the gigantic spider-beast.<p>

"_O-Okay, Joseph. I will trust you … please … please don't let my Romani fall … I wouldn't survive that …"_ said Cremia in a sad voice. Joseph, Romani and Link already saved Cremia three times - twice against the Gorman and once against Aveil. Also they helped her a lot and proved themselves as trustful friends. So … actually she had no other chance to trust the braveness of her sister and her newest friend. Nazran walked to Cremia, held her shoulder and said:  
><em>"Let's move now, okay?"<em> … Cremia nodded and the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch began to run again.  
><em>"Josephicus and young Romani. Listen up! If you manage to climb out, look for a house made out of stone in this direction!"<em> said Gorman to our young heroes. Gorman also threw down his second torch, to give Romani and Joseph another possibility to see through the dark forest, before he ran together the rest of the group.

Everyone ran except for Romani and Joseph, who had to look for another way out of the fissure.  
><em>"Okay Romani. Hopefully we find something useful … otherwise we will have a really really <em>_**really**__ bad time …"_ said Joseph to Romani and searched the fissure with his torch.  
>The eastern side of the fissure had nothing but dirt and some spider-webs.<br>Romani searched the western side of the fissure and found something interesting.  
><em>"Blueberry, look! Romani has found something!"<em> said Romani. Joseph immediately ran to Romani and both saw … well … a cave entrance.

"_Oh … okay … good job Romani but … nope nope nope … I won't go inside there … this cave is way too dark in my opinion … and maybe it is full of spiders and other shit and …"_ said Joseph to Romani in a worried voice.  
><em>"… I know it's dark … but … I don't think we have another option. Maybe the cave leads to an exit …" <em>said Romani and tried Joseph to convince.  
><em>"I don't like to say that but … unfortunately you are right, Redleaf …"<em> said Joseph to Romani and both slowly began to walk through the cave … slowly, because they didn't want to wake up any beasts if there are beasts inside that cave. Romani knew for sure how to convince someone … and Joseph was easy to convince.

While the torch lighted the walls of the dark cave in a warm and bright orange light, our heroes went deeper and deeper into the cave-system. Somehow the cave was quite warm and dry, compared to the outsides which were still cold and wet since Cremia got kidnapped by Aveil.  
><em>"Oh man, I've never thought I will have to go through a scary cave while a gigantic spider chased us and while other crazy insects destroyed everything after we got nearly killed by pirates and ... damn, this is becoming too crazy … even for me. If I ever have the chance to get back to where I originally come from, nobody will ever believe me. They will say that I just went full retarded …"<em> said Joseph to Romani, who was surprised as well.

_"Hmmm … now after you mentioned it … Romani has never seen so much adventure either. The life on the ranch was always quite peaceful. My sister and Romani were always working hard on the ranch but we never had to fear for our lives. Romani always wished to have more action in her life … but now she wants to live peacefully with sister, Blueberry and Grasshopper again on the ranch"_ answered Romani.  
><em>"True that! Oh man, I've never wanted to play dancing rancher more than ever before … or to taste the awesome food of your sister. Or to talk to her in peace after dinner …"<em> said Joseph and drifted his mind to more beautiful thoughts. As mentioned earlier Joseph and Cremia sat at the dinner-table after dinner and talked to each other. They exchanged cultural, scientific and ethical experiences; sometimes even together with Link and Romani. But now this peace was broken.

While our two heroes walked carefully through the dark but warm cave, they also talked to each other to calm themselves down … and talking really helped them to calm down. Words were the strongest weapon against fear. Some of the cave-walls were covered in spider-webs, but fortunately only very few of them actually had smaller spiders in them. The cave was long and dark … but it was also warm and dry, which helped our adolescent engineer and our young rancher to recover from the cold rain.  
>Also the cave floor and walls became more and more straight, which was a bit weird for a … natural cave beneath the center of nowhere … but Romani and Joseph didn't noticed that and only enjoyed the warmth and straight floor together with the bitter smack of fear.<p>

"_Blueberry, do you like my sister? And do you like Romani too?"_ asked Romani.  
><em>"Uhm … y-yes. Of course I do. Why do you ask?"<em> answered Joseph. Why was Romani asking such a question right now?  
><em>"Romani was just curious, because Romani would really like if you and Grasshopper could live on the ranch forever … well … if we ever manage to survive all the death and destruction … and if we rebuild the ranch"<em> answered Romani.  
><em>"Oh … well … I like the ranch-life a lot … but somehow I also miss the world where I am from. I am way too used to the safety from my world. Somehow Termina seems to be quite dangerous to me. I also still don't understand how I got here …"<em> said Joseph to Romani, who was a bit disappointed.  
><em>"So you will go back to your land?"<em> said Romani.  
><em>"No … I-I mean I want to understand how I got here … before I make a decision, you understand, Romani? Maybe I will stay with you here … or if there is a possibility to live in both worlds … I would be very happy"<em> answered Joseph.  
><em>"How did Blueberry even come to Termina? Romani can't really remember how we met at all …"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"We met on Anju's wedding first. Remember? I asked if your sister is also here and …"<em> answered Joseph and Romani interrupted with:  
><em>"Ah … right, now Romani remembers. But why did you ask for my sister and how did you come to Termina?"<br>"Oh … uhm I … I asked because … uhm … because you look like her but younger. Maybe she was around too and … uhm … well …"_ answered Joseph to Romani's curious questions but he finished with: _"Whatever. I came to Termina by touching something very weird. This thing felt so strange in my hands … and I lost my consciousness. After I touched it, I woke up in the forest we are in right now. I went to Clock-Town and searched for a place to stay. I was unable to pay for a room in the Stock Pot Inn because they don't know what Euros are so I went outside and …"_

"_Blueberry, please be quiet! I've heard something"_ said Romani and both immediately silenced. Romani readied another arrow for her bow and Joseph held his axe in front of him.  
>What did Romani hear? After both remained silent for about one and a half minutes, our heroes heard another sound together. It was a weird noise that sounded like a … grunt. What the heck was that sound?<br>Another sound followed the grunt … this time it sounded like wood that falls to the stony ground.  
>A third sound followed the other two sounds … this time it was clearly a hammer hitting wood … and the hammer hit it several times.<br>_"This cave is like Minecraft … but in real life … and without respawning …"_ whispered Joseph.  
><em>"What did you say, Blueberry?"<em> asked Romani in a whispering and confused voice.  
><em>"Uhm … not so important … but what was that weird grunt?"<em> answered Joseph and both were curious about the answer.

Both sneaked through the cave and saw … light?! … coming from the right side of the cave. There was a junction in the cave-corridor on the right side, where the light came from. Romani and Joseph sneaked together along the cave wall and tried to get a better view from the light-origin.  
><em>"What in the name of Nayru is that?!"<em> asked Romani her friend Joseph after they looked together around the corner of the cave. Both couldn't believe their eyes anymore. Around the corner was a huge cave. Big constructions made out of wood soared along the cave-walls. Several huts, made out of wood, dirt and leafs. Last but not least: A lot of strange and grunting creatures walked around that huge cave-system. Those creatures looked quite humanoid … but they had a pointy head … and big feet … and only one big eye … and a pig-like nose … and also blue-greenish but lightish skin.  
><em>"I have a bad feeling about this …"<em> whispered Joseph to Romani, who only answered with:  
><em>"Romani neither. I think we won't be welcome here …"<em>

What are those weird creatures that Romani and Joseph saw?  
>What about the rest of the Fellowship? Are they save?<br>And will Joseph be able to keep his promise to Cremia by protecting the brave young Redhead? 

**-/-/-/ End of Chapter 29 \-\-\-**

_**Notes from the Author: **___

_One request: Please write reviews for the story because this is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	30. The Cave of the Blind Hunters - Part II

_**Notes from the Author: **__Hello dear readers. Chapter 30, here we go!  
>One thing to mention: I think I won't be able to upload tomorrow because I will come home very late and have to learn for math, but maybe I have enough time to update chapter one, because I finally finished the artwork for it, which is nice :)<br>Search "KorneliusPrisma" on DeviantArt if you want to see it (I will link it in the chapter beneath the title anyways)._

_Please comment, criticize and have fun!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

**\-\-\ Chapter 30: The Cave of the Blind Hunters – Part 2 /-/-/**

**Meanwhile deep inside Darkwood-Forest – At the dawn of a new day:**

"_I hope we don't have to run anymore … my feet are already crying …"_ said Anju to the rest. Her words didn't only speak for her alone because Link, Cremia, Kafei, Gorman, Nazran, Jim and Tim were exhausted too … exhausted from running … but also from fearing the death all the time.  
><em> "True that, Anju! My feet are hurting too … Gorman, how far is it to your house?"<em> asked Cremia her former rival.  
><em>"As I said to you before, the place is behind this hill over there. Just follow me those few meters, okay?" <em>replied Gorman. His reply was honest; the house made out of stone was only behind the hill … being waiting for tired and hungry guests.

Our eight heroes climbed up the forest hill slowly past the creepy and tall trees … step by step. After about five minutes, the Fellowship did it. The house was in their sights and they were happy to see a place, where they could stay … to catch their breath again … and maybe to satisfy their rumbling stomachs and tired eyes.  
>After they climbed down the hill and everyone stood in front of the house, Gorman put out his keys and opened the creaky door. A woody and stony mixed scent came out of the house and kissed the noses of the Fellowship members.<p>

"_So… this is your hideout … interesting"_ said Cremia.  
><em>"Yepp, that's it. Feel free to feel save. We can rest for a few days here and plan our next steps. Oh and … I … uhm … thank you, Miss Cremia …"<em> said Gorman to her.  
><em>"Uhm … you're welcome … I guess?"<em> was her confused answer. Why did Gorman thank her?  
><em>"Thank you that you can trust me after all our tensions in the past …"<em> replied Gorman to Cremia's confusion.  
><em>"I told you that I forgive you … you are helping us right now … and I welcome every help in those darkest hours … I guess we all do …"<em> said Cremia and smiled. The fact that Gorman changed his mind so fast was amazing. Kafei, who trained himself in recognizing liars, didn't even notice some signs of lie in Gorman's face. He said the truth and was honestly interested in cooperation with his former enemy, the redheaded rancher named Cremia.

"_Okay, listen up, dear Fellowship! I have plenty of food and other useful equipment in my hideout. You can also get some blankets to sleep. And the house is hidden so well, I don't think those flying things will ever find us here. First … let us take a little break …"_ introduced the oldest Gorman-Brother. Everyone was so thankful at this moment while Gorman prepared some food and blankets for everyone … and Cremia suddenly realized that Gorman saved her. I mean that's quite obvious, but she got saved by the man, who attacked her before and whom she shackled and slapped a week before. Her little sister and Link tried to attack him … or even tried to kill him.  
>If they killed Gorman before, nobody of our Fellowship members would be save right now.<br>Interesting how one little decision changed their lives forever …

**Meanwhile deep beneath the surface of Darkwood-Forest – At sunrise:**

"_Okay, listen up Romani. I really really __**really**__ do not think that it would be a good idea to attract their attention right now …" _said Joseph to Romani who nodded back at his suggestion. Romani still looked in a quite shocked face and answered Joseph with: _"Understood, Blueberry. Let's sneak away; we really shouldn't be here …"_

Joseph looked around with his torch and saw that the junction also leads to another cave-path. Hopefully this new way will guide them to a happier place. Both looked around to be sure that no one was behind them. Our young redheaded rancher and our adolescent brown-haired engineer observed the strange creatures that walked around in their huge hidden village. After about four minutes of anxious observation, nobody looked to their direction or was close to them. It was about time to escape that scary cave. Our heroes took to one's heels and run as fast and as silent as possible to the other side of the junction. Both stopped for a short moment … just to be sure no one noticed them … and thanks heaven … nobody did.

"_Whew! That was too close, Redleaf. Now let's move on … and hope for an exit"_ said Joseph.  
>Both sneaked through the cave system again in the hope they will find a way out. But after another hour of sneaking and being careful step by step, they saw nothing but a stony and dirty cave-wall, spider-webs and sometimes even a bat.<br>_"This cave is bigger than Romani has expected …"_ said Romani to Joseph, who walked in front of her, while he held and lit the third torch.  
><em>"True that, Romani. Seriously, where is my diamond pickaxe when I need it the most?"<em> asked Joseph himself jokingly.

While Joseph ignited the torch with tinder from Anju, they heard noises.  
>Oh no … grunts again … and they came from around the corner. After Joseph's torch lighted the cave-walls in a warm orange light again, Romani and Joseph looked at each other … with fearful eyes. Both immediately knew what to do …<br>Sneaking and hiding would be the best option right now. Fighting might be too dangerous. Joseph and Romani were exhausted and hungry like the rest of the Fellowship. But unlike them, they had no option to rest right now. If they would rest right now… they would be fast food for the hunters.  
>Maybe those creatures are also good fighters. Both knew that a fight would be way to risky right now. Hiding was the best option at this moment … but where?<p>

Romani looked around … and fortunately she has very well eyes.  
><em>"Blueberry, follow me!"<em> whispered Romani and both sneaked towards another small, which was hidden in the dark at first. But this path ended at an impasse just around the corner. The situation was dangerous. There was no other path that our heroes could pass right now. If they go back, they risk to land in the hidden underground village. If they go towards them, they might die by a fight.  
>Maybe if they hide in the dead-end cave, those creatures won't find them.<br>But Joseph held his torch … and the torch lighted the dark corner, so if they pass, they might see them. But extinguishing the torch wouldn't be a good idea either, because it was their last torch … and the cave is very dark without a torch … extremely dark to be exact.

Joseph threw the torch at their path and both hide in the corner. Romani readied an arrow and Joseph held his axe. A few minutes passed by and the creatures showed themselves … two of them to be exact. As Joseph thought, they stopped walking and stood in front of the torch. Somehow they didn't look down at the torch … but they sniffed the air and moved their heads around. Didn't they notice the fire?  
>Their actions confused Romani and Joseph. The fire was way too obvious to get overlooked.<br>The weird hunters looked at each other and grunted intelligible noises to each other.  
>Romani turned her head to Joseph, looked into his eyes and nodded. Soon both, Romani and Joseph, moved two steps out of the corner. She slowly aimed her bow at the hunter's head and released the arrow.<p>

The arrow hit the head and caused the hunter to squeak loudly for a few milliseconds. The other hunter got nervous and didn't realize the situation at first. This surprise attack was way too fast for him and Joseph swung his axe right into his head. Joseph's attack caused the second hunter to squeak even louder and longer than the other one. Unfortunately the hunter's scream was loud enough to cause a very bad situation for our young heroes, because it alarmed the others.  
>Joseph and Romani looked at each other and knew shit just got serious. Several squeaking sounds could be heard from where Romani and Joseph came from … and the squeaks seemed to be angry and furious.<p>

While looking at each other, Romani and Joseph gulped …  
><em>"Romani?"<em> asked Joseph.  
><em>"Y-Yes, Blueberry?"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"Run for your life! Now!"<em> shouted Joseph and grabbed his torch again. After the two pig-like hunters were dead, Redleaf and Blueberry took to one's heels and ran as fast as they could through the dark and dangerous cave.

**Meanwhile in Gorman's hideout – Some hours after sunrise:**

"_Din, I pray to you, please give Romani and Joseph enough power to withstand the forces of evil.  
>Farore, I pray to you, please give Romani and Joseph enough courage to stand the tests of fear.<br>Nayru, I pray to you, please give Romani and Joseph enough wisdom to act reasonable in their darkest hours.  
>Dear goddesses … please hear my words … don't let my sister and my friend fall …"<em> prayed Cremia, while sitting on a bed and hoped the best for her little sister and her foreign friend, who were in great danger right now.  
><em>"Cremia, please … you have to eat something … or at least to rest for a few hours …"<em> said Anju to Cremia, who prayed for several hours since they arrived in Gorman's hideout.

Link, the Bombers, Gorman and Kafei were already sleeping after they eat a meal, which Gorman cooked for them. Anju and Nazran were watching the entrance while Cremia gave her last power in praying for the ones she loves. But even though Anju tried to calm Cremia down, who was very nervous at this moment, Cremia didn't stop praying. Praying really helped her in a situation like this.

But will Cremia's prays be heard by the mighty goddesses Din, Farore and Nayru?  
>Will they guide Joseph and Romani, who were running through a dark cave, to a place they can call save?<br>Or will the hunters be faster than our redheaded rancher and our foreign engineer? 

**/-/-/ End of Chapter 30 \-\-\**

_**Notes from the Author: **__And last but not least: Where is Batman? :D  
>If you wonder why I don't write in this part of the chapters so often, the reason for this is that I use them for explanations related to the chapters … for example to describe things that might confuse you.<em>

_For example stuff like Romani's and Cremia's family name. The ranch-owners have the same surname like the ranch. So their full names are Cremia Romani and Romani Romani, which sounds quite weird, I know :P_

_One request: Please write reviews for the story. This is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	31. The Cave of the Blind Hunters - Part III

_**Notes from the Author: **__Wow, it's already 31 chapters! It feels like yesterday that I began to write the first one. Anyways, I also updated the first chapter because as I said I will update chapter one … and I did. Instead of 1.500 words the chapter now contains about 2.100 words and the situations are explained in a more detailed and exciting way, well at least in my opinion. ;)_

Please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 31: The Cave of the Blind Hunters – Part 3 -/-/**

* * *

><p><strong>Deep beneath the surface of Darkwood-Forest – Early morning:<strong>

"_Okay … that was the worst idea we ever had before …"_ said Joseph to Romani while they ran through the dark and scary cave.  
><em>"True that, Blueberry! But now there is no time to waste …"<em> replied Romani to him.  
>The grunts and squeaks came closer and closer to the tired and courageous heroes … but only sometimes because after our Romani and our Joseph immediately focused all their power in their legs again, the sounds of their possible death became silent again … fortunately.<p>

Romani and Joseph ran as fast as they could … well … actually Romani wasn't running as fast as she could … because if she did, she would overtake Joseph in a few seconds. Romani was quite short compared to Cremia and Joseph, but she was able to overtake every adult person easily. The young rancher's legs were powerful indeed.  
>But overtaking Joseph wouldn't be a good idea at this moment because Joseph had the torch … and he lighted the way through the warm and stony-smelling cave … and through its eternal darkness.<p>

"_Oh no … "_ whispered Joseph while he and Romani stood in front of another cave-junction. Fortunately they didn't hear any squeaking or grunting … that means they are save for a short moment … but at this moment … it was not the right time to sit down and rest their hurting feet.  
><em>"Left or right? Left or right? Left or right? …"<em> asked Romani nervously and made Joseph nervous as well … every wrong decision would have guided them into death at this moment … so they had to think wisely … wisely but fast.  
>The left path had a couple of spider-webs on the wall and the walls of the right path were supported by a frame made out of wood.<br>_"To the left!"_ decided Joseph and went through the spider-web cave. After thirty seconds of running the cave-path was even closed by a big spider web. Joseph swung his axe to cut the web and both run again.

Step by step ran Redleaf and Blueberry through the spider-verminous and dark cave … and they reached a huge cave. This cave was probably as big as the cave that contained the hunter-village … but this time the cave didn't have a village … but huge (and I mean huge!) spider webs.  
><em>"Blueberry, I d-don't think it is a good idea to be here …"<em> said Romani fearfully to Joseph, who gulped as he lighted the cave with his torch. This cave was big and full of webs … but just to be sure … was there something else too?  
>Joseph and Romani turned around together and lighted the edges of the cave.<br>Our engineer raised his eyebrows after he saw something in the corner. It looked like … stones … but somehow they were red on top, white at the center and black at the bottom. Very strange stones … wait … stones?

Romani and Joseph looked at each other with confused and fearful eyes. They gulped and dared to look around with the torch again. But maybe this was not their best idea. As they walked two meters through the darkness past the "stones" … they saw it.  
>A huge beast, like the one that chased the Fellowship through the Darkwood-Forest, slept next to the "stones". The beast moved slightly … so it was alive … unfortunately.<br>Now it was clear … the "stones" weren't stones at all … they were eggs! The big skullfaced beast is a mother … and it was sleeping next to her eggs … **was**.  
>It moved its eight legs and opened its eyes while it slowly stood up. Romani and Joseph looked at each other with even more scared eyes.<p>

"_Okay right, it's really not a good idea to be here!"_ said Joseph in his most scared voice … and both began to run out of the spider-cave immediately … back to the junction where they originally came from.  
>The beast released a loud scream because some unwelcome intruders tried to hurt her babies … well … that's what the beast thought.<br>The beast chased Romani and Joseph through the spider cave … and it nearly got Joseph … but fortunately the beast was too big to go through the small cave.  
>Joseph turned to the beast, which was stuck in the cave as it tried to catch Joseph, and he said: <em>"You … shall … not … pass!"<br>"Blueberry, don't be stupid now! There is no time to waste, so run!"_ said Romani and Joseph turned to Romani again.

As Romani and Joseph arrived back at the junction, they already heard grunting and squeaking from the path where they originally came from … and this time the sounds were louder than before.  
>Either they run back to the big spider … or they run straight into the hunters' arms. The only option was the cave with the wooden frames. They took a deep breath and ran towards it.<br>After about three minutes of running, our heroes arrived in another big cave …

This time the cave was free of spider webs ... but they saw a village … maybe it was the same hunter-village they had seen before, I don't exactly know, but it was huge. A lot of houses, made out of wood and leafs, a lot of hunters and the village was lighted at some points. But this time the fortune was on Romani's and Joseph's side … because the village was beneath them. Our heroes didn't run through the village itself but on a big bridge … made out of stone and supported by wooden frames. The view was amazing and scary at the same time. But the grunting from the cave behind them became louder and louder.

Romani and Joseph ran as fast as they could across the bridge and …  
><em>"Whoa! Damn! That was close!"<em> whispered Joseph because an arrow nearly hit his head … this would have definitely killed him if it had hit him. The hunters were after them … and they shot at Joseph and Romani. Striking back was no option for our exhausted young heroes.  
>Now it was another time to focus all their power in their legs again … and they crossed the big bridge deep beneath the surface of Termina into another cave-system.<p>

Another five minutes passed as our heroes ran through the small cave. This cave had a lot of brown mushrooms on its walls … and fortunately no spider webs.  
><em>"Oh no, not again. Where should be go now?!"<em> asked Romani after they arrived at another cave-junction. This time the junction was even worse because it had three possible ways to go … and every cave looked the same.  
>Luckily the grunting was gone too … but even though the cave was silent and our heroes only heard their own heart beating loudly and their own heavy breathing, there was no time to waste!<br>_"I am … so exhausted … and every wrong move could mean death … I … I am  
>stumped for an answer" said<em> Joseph.

After Romani and Joseph stood at the junction for about half a minute as they couldn't decide where to go, one of the strangest things they could ever imagine happened to them.  
>Romani heard a voice … but it was not a grunting or squeaking voice … it was a female voice … a very beautiful voice to be exact. Romani turned her head to the left cave and focused her sense of hearing at this cave … just to be sure her ears didn't get deceived before. Maybe the long ears of every Terminan citizen were good for something. Hmmm … well … maybe it was only her imagination and she …<p>

"_Come with me …"_ said the voice again. This was the evidence that Romani's long ears didn't lie to her.  
><em>"Blueberry, this is the right cave!"<em> said Romani to him. He was confused. Why was Romani so sure about that?  
><em>"Are you sure?"<em> asked Joseph.  
><em>"Didn't you hear her? Just run there!"<em> replied Romani and pointed at the left cave.  
><em>"I didn't hear anything. What do you m … hey! Wait for me!"<em> tried Joseph to say but Romani already ran into the darkness … and he had to follow her.

"_Follow me!"_ said the voice again. The strange thing was that somehow only Romani noticed the voice.  
><em>"Sister … is … is that you?" <em>asked Romani. This voice sounded a lot like the beautiful voice of Cremia … but this would be impossible. Cremia followed the Fellowship to the Gorman hideout before.  
><em>"Okay … either we are following a ghost now … or we just went full retarded in this eternal darkness …"<em> whispered Joseph to himself as Romani guided him trough the dark cave.  
><em>"Trust me, Joseph. I … somehow I can't explain but I think I can trust <em>_**her**__ …"_ said Romani to the doubtful Joseph. Joseph immediately knew Romani was very serious because she rarely spoke in first person … she only did this in rare situations.

Romani and Joseph arrived at another junction with two possible paths again. Left or right? Life or doom? Light or Darkness?  
><em>"Come with me!"<em> said the voice again and Romani heard the voice from the left cave.  
><em>"Quick Blueberry. It's this way!"<em> said Romani and pointed left.  
><em>"Where are we going, Romani?"<em> asked Joseph.  
><em>"A voice is telling me to follow. The voice sounds so familiar and calming to me … I can't explain …"<em> answered Romani.  
>Even though Joseph was full of doubts … he had no other option to trust his little redheaded friend.<p>

They arrived at a fourth junction … this time it had three paths again. Romani waited for a few seconds and focused her hearing while Joseph was catching his breath again.  
><em>"To the Cosmic Gate!"<em> said the voice and guided Romani through the path in the center.  
>This time the cave was steep and our heroes had to climb sometimes.<br>After climbing, running and trying to hold their eyes open … our heroes finally did it!

They saw the forest, which was not creepy and dark anymore … because its trees and surface got kissed by the warming rays of the sun. Romani and Joseph were out of this scary and dark cave. After they saw the forest again, they were so happy in this moment. This means that they were safe again … and they could see without a torch again … and probably rest for a few minutes.  
><em>"What the …"<em> said Joseph to himself and looked at Romani in a amazed and happy face.  
><em>"Romani told Blueberry to follow her … and we are out of this cave again …"<em> answered Romani and smiled at Joseph.  
><em>"Wow. I … I can't believe it we survived it … I am not even mad. That's amazing, Romani! Thank you so much!"<em> replied Joseph to her and both rested. They caught their breath again and calmed down their hurting legs for a few moments.

"_Finally no darkness, spiders, weird hunting beasts or other things anymore. Now we have to find the hideout of Gorman"_ said Romani to Joseph. They were in the forest again … now they had to find Gorman and his hideout … and the rest of the Fellowship. But they had no idea where it could be. The cave exit was somewhere else.  
><em>"Oh my … Blueberry … look!"<em> shouted Romani to Joseph and scared him with her sudden scream. She pointed at the forest and both couldn't believe their eyes anymore.  
>They saw a person … maybe female … with long blond hair and a long red dress standing in the forest … and this person was glowing in a warm white light. Joseph shook his head because he denied the fact that this mysterious person even existed at all. It was scaring him to his bones.<p>

"_Please … follow me!"_ said the person in a calm voice … but this time both, Romani and Joseph could hear her voice. Romani recognized the voice … because it was the same voice that guided her out of the dark cave. After she spoke her words, she disappeared in less than one second.

Who is this mysterious person that tells Romani and Joseph to follow her?  
>Is it an illusion because the darkness made Redleaf and Blueberry crazy? Or is it a ghost? A goddess? A regular human or a regular Terminan? An optical illusion? Or something else?<br>And last but not least: Can our heroes trust this person?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 31 \-\-\**

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><p><em><strong>Notes from the Author: <strong>__Don't worry. The mystery will be solved in the next chapter ;P_

One request as always: Please write reviews for the story. This is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes.

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	32. The Reunion of the Fellowship

_**Notes from the Author: **__Chapter 32 … powered by the energy of "Milchreis" and music … here we go!__Only one thing to mention: I will only be able to upload every three days (or less) because now tons of exams are coming towards me … and I prefer to learn for them (I hope you understand).  
>But I have a good message in the notes at the bottom of the chapter, so take a look at them too ;)<em>

_Please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!_  
><em>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

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><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 32: The Reunion of the Fellowship -/-/**

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><p><strong>Meanwhile inside Gorman's Hideout – Morning:<strong>

"_Din … I pray … to you … give Romani and J-Joseph … power …  
>F-Farore … I pray … you … please give Romani and Joseph … courage …<br>Nayru … I p-pray … give R-Romani and Joseph w-wisdom …"_ prayed Cremia on the bed, which Gorman gave her before. Cremia was extremely exhausted and was barely able to speak … or to hold her tired eyes open. This exhaustion felt horrible to our pious rancher. Her feet were hurting, her head was pumping painfully and her heartbeat was fast and loud.  
>Pain and exhaustion were overwhelming … but this didn't keep her off to pray for the ones she loves.<br>Sleeping? That was no option for Cremia in this bitter and dark moment.

While Cremia withstood the pain and prayed like she never did before, Anju already felt asleep on a chair. While our heroes ran through the dark cave before, Anju tried to comfort Cremia and she also tried to convince her to sleep … but Anju failed and became sleepy by herself.  
>Gorman, Jim, Kafei and Tim went to sleep after they ate Gorman's meal. They were way too tired to stay awake. Gorman slept in his own bed while Kafei and the Bombers built an improvised bed with blankets and pillows on the ground.<p>

Link and Nazran gave their last power like Cremia and watched the entrance for possible dangers … or for possible guests. Both fell asleep sometimes. Sitting on a chair and watching a door and small windows for several hours … this **must** make anybody tired. Link closed his eyes and took a deep breath while Nazran stood up and walked around to prevent falling asleep as well. A walk, some cold water to drink and fresh oxygen … yes that's helping.  
>Nazran grabbed one of the glasses and put some water out of a barrel. The Gorman gathered the water from the rain and put the barrel inside for drinking and washing.<br>Drinking fresh and cold rain water helped Nazran only a little bit to stay awake. So it was time to try something else. She put her hands in the barrel and washed her face with the cold water. That really helped a lot. After that she looked at the towel next to her and …

***knock knock knock*** … could be heard coming from the door. Nazran immediately opened her tired eyes and her heart began to beat. Who could it be? Romani and/or Joseph? Some bandits? A polite giant killer-spider who knocks before it attacks?  
>Nazran went to Link silently and shook him awake. Cremia stopped praying and stood up next to Nazran and Link as well. All six eyes of our three heroes looked at the wooden door with expectancy.<br>_"Somebody knocked. Get your sword ready, boy …"_ whispered Nazran to Link, who overheard the knocking.  
>Link readied his sword and Nazran readied her saber.<p>

Both slowly opened the squeaky door … until it was opened completely. In front of Link, Nazran and Cremia stood two people. One of them was tall and male while the other one was short and female … and both were dirty and tired as well. It was Joseph and Romani, who finally reunited with the group. Cremia couldn't believe her eyes anymore. Romani and Joseph did it … they escaped the fissure together … after running and running and especially fearing the death all the time ... they did it!

Cremia immediately ran to Romani and hugged her little sister, whose dress was covered in dirt, like she never did before.  
>This hug … this lovely, warm and fuzzy feeling, which the ranch sisters shared each other in this beautiful moment of reunion, caused both, Cremia and Romani to release tears of joy. This one special moment, to see the sisters reuniting and hugging each other, was probably one of the most beautiful moments everyone could have imagined.<br>Joseph got also hugged by Nazran and by Link. The hug caused him to smile. And while he smiled, he also fought against the exhaustion and he also tried to suppress his confusion from before.

"_Romani … I … I am so happy to see you … to see you alive … I love you so much, Romani … I missed you …"_ said Cremia to her while she squeezed her little sister.  
><em>"Romani missed sister too! And Romani loves sister too!"<em> answered Romani to the warm and caring person, who was hugging her.  
>After about two minutes of hugging, Romani looked into the tired but happy eyes of her sister with her own tired and happy eyes.<br>Cremia stood up and she hugged Joseph nearly as much as she did with Romani. As mentioned earlier … the hugs from the ranch sisters had something special on them. Joseph felt warm and fuzzy inside and his heartbeat became faster. Joseph put his arms around Cremia as well and smiled … to enjoy this moment of care.

"_Thank you" _were the only two words that came out of Cremia's mouth.  
><em>"As I promised you: I will protect her … and Romani protected me too …"<em> answered Joseph.  
><em>"Thank you … for bringing my Romani back to me. Thank … you … so … mu …"<em> replied Cremia … but she didn't finish her sentence.  
>She collapsed in Joseph's arms. Fortunately he held her … otherwise both would have fallen to the floor together.<br>_"Sister! No!"_ shouted Romani and she grabbed one of her hands. What happened to her? Was Cremia … suddenly dead?  
><em>"Whoa. What the …?"<em> asked Joseph himself … but he didn't asked any longer and immediately held Cremia like he did with her earlier … and he laid her in her bed.

"_What is wrong with my sis?"_ asked the tired and exhausted Romani to Joseph.  
>Both looked at Cremia, who lay in her bed with closed eyes and an open mouth. Joseph held his hand in front of her open mouth and he checked her pulse.<br>_"She lost her consciousness … I guess …"_ answered Joseph.  
><em>"But why?"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"Well … I think … uhm … maybe she was … or … uhm … okay, I have no idea" <em>answered Joseph.  
>After a few seconds Nazran went next to Joseph and Romani and said to them:<br>_"Cremia prayed the whole night … for you. She was a nervous wreck and Anju tried to get her to sleep but Cremia insisted to pray …"_

"_Well … if that's the case … then I guess she lost her consciousness or felt asleep because of too much exhaustion"_ said Joseph and yawned together with Romani and Link.  
><em>"We are all exhausted. I guess we should follow the rest to the land of dreams"<em> said Nazran and looked at the sleeping Bombers.  
><em>"True that! We should sleep now. So much excitement and pain in just two days without resting for a few seconds … I am wondering that we are still alive"<em> said Joseph and the rest nodded.  
>Romani slept next to her sister and cuddled with her. It didn't last for long and Romani felt asleep after a few minutes. The warm body and the heartbeat of Cremia together with the soft bed calmed her so much.<br>Nazran and Link both slept on the chair again after they sat down. Finally Romani and Joseph were here, so they didn't have to watch out for them anymore.  
>Joseph looked around and … unfortunately … no sleeping place was available anymore … well except for the carpet. Our Joseph was already used to sleep on dusty carpets.<p>

Hours and hours passed by and our ten heroes, namely Anju, Cremia, Gorman, Jim, Joseph, Kafei, Link, Nazran, Romani and Tim, recovered in Gorman's hideout in, more or less, comfortable sleeping positions. Finally they arrived at a safe place to plan their next steps.  
>But even though they are quite save now … let us not forget that there is still a big portal-like, light-blue, cloud-vortex over the ruins of Clock-Town.<br>Let us not forget that there are flying objects all over Termina that Joseph described as "a spider in a mechanical suit" and which can shoot explosive and devastating projectiles.  
>Let us not forget that our heroes nearly got killed by another weird beast with six legs, dark armor and purple-shining surfaces in Milk-Road before (which you can see on the artwork of chapter one as well ;)).<p>

It is still not clear who this new unknown enemy is and how our heroes can defeat them. Who are those drones and those six-legged beasts? And why are they here and destroy everything without a visible reason?

It is still not clear how Joseph came into Termina. Is all of this even reality or is it just fantasy? Is it a dream or is it just some kind of virtual technology?

It also is still not clear who this mysterious person was who guided Romani and Joseph through the dark cave and who asked them to _"follow her to the Cosmic Gate"_. Is it a goddess who heard Cremia's praying? Is it a ghost who was trapped in the cave? Is it a human or is it just another mysterious creature from Termina?

Tons and tons of questions … and all of them are waiting to get solved … sometime … somewhere.

"_Ugh … ouch … what the …?"_ asked Joseph himself while he still lay on the ground and felt a gentle shake again. As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw Anju kneeing next to him. After he looked into her eyes, she held her cheeks and said_: "He is alive!"_ to the rest of the group, who was already awake.  
>Joseph sat down on the carpet on which he slept this night and looked around.<br>Gorman and Kafei were preparing food while Cremia cuddled with Romani in their bed and while Link, the Bombers and Anju kneed next to Joseph and while Nazran looked at a map on a table.

"_Of course I am alive. I might look like a dirty corpse but I am alive … I guess …"_ answered Joseph and laughed together with the rest.  
><em>"We are glad you are alive!"<em> said Jim to Joseph. Tim said the same to Romani, who was still cuddling with Cremia.  
>It was done … the group was reunited … and ready to plan their next steps.<br>Joseph stood up and felt some pain in his back. Sleeping on the hard ground is probably not the best idea.

While everyone ate … "breakfast" … and they realized it's already 4:30 PM … they shared their experiences. Romani was really excited to tell her family and friends about what they saw deep beneath the surface of the Darkwood-Forest. She spoke about the giant spiders, about the darkness, about the villages and the strange creatures that followed them and even about the voice that guide them out of the cave.

"_Little Romani and Josephicus! Are you crazy!? You … you really were in the … in the Cave of the Blind Hunters!? No one ever survived there … how … how is it possible that you are alive?"_ asked Gorman while they sat together on the table.  
><em>"The Blind Hunters? Hmmm … that would explain why they didn't look down the torch I threw at them … or why they missed me with their arrows …"<em> answered Joseph.  
><em>"The Hunters are blind indeed … but they use their other senses so well. They can smell you from afar … they can hear your heart beating … they can even feel the slightest tremor of the ground. They are still dangerous …"<em> said Gorman.

While they shared experiences, Nazran asked them to come to her. Everyone stood up and went next to her. Nazran was looking at a big map of Termina and planned. Gerudo were good in planning things via maps. About seventy-five percent of their planned raids were working.  
><em>"Gorman, where exactly are we?"<em> asked Nazran.  
><em>"We are here"<em> said Gorman and pointed at the south-eastern side of the Darkwood-Forest.  
><em>"So we are about … between the Swamp-Shooting Gallery and the Woods of Mystery?"<em> asked Nazran again.  
><em>"Yes. The Woods of Mystery are not far away. Just a bit more to the south and we arrive at the Magic Hag's Potion Shop"<em> answered Gorman. Everyone else watched them planning together.

"_Good to know … but what exactly are we doing now? I mean we are safe now … but we still have to do something against those weird flying and non-flying beasts"_ said Link to Nazran and Gorman, who agreed with him.  
><em>"They seem to be technologically advanced … so fighting them with our ridiculous weapons won't fight them … there must be another way … but how?"<em> said Joseph to the rest … and they agreed with him too.  
><em>"Who are they anyways? I mean I have seen a lot of different creatures by myself … but they are nothing I have ever seen before"<em> said Kafei … and the rest had to agree with him too.

What will the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch do against this enemy?  
>How can they defeat them?<br>Who are they?  
>And where is B…<p>

"_Allow me to answer those understandable questions …"_ said an unknown voice behind the group.  
>Everyone turned around to face the origin of the voice … and they saw her.<br>A tall woman … with a red dress … with long blond, nearly white, hair ... and intense green eyes … suddenly stood behind the Fellowship … and she was also glowing in a warm white light.  
><em>"Whoa!"<em> shouted Tim and got scared by her.  
><em>"Who the hell are you?"<em> asked Gorman and grabbed his pitchfork.  
><em>"And how did you get in here?"<em> asked Link and drew his sword.  
><em>"Damn … she is creepy …"<em> thought Kafei but didn't dare to say his thoughts loudly.

"_Wait! Romani knows her! She is the one who saved us!"_ said Romani and put her hands on the pitchfork and the sword to lower them.

Who is this mysterious person?  
>Can the Fellowship trust her?<br>And what will they do next?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 32 \-\-\**

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><p><em><strong>Notes from the Author: <strong>__Between the 28__th__ of March and the 7__th__ of April, I will have Easter-Holiday's … and this means that I can write one or even two chapter each day. Maybe the first Fanfiction will be finished in those days … so very soon chapters will be written as fast as a Locomotive :D _

_Yes you've read right. I said "first Fanfiction". I already know how the story will develop and how it will end. I already planned a lot of stuff for the sequels. This means that "The Cosmic Gate" will be a trilogy. But I will begin to write the sequel after I finished and updated the first one completely. Also I want to finish my A-Levels (we call it "Matura") first before I start writing again. My A-Levels will be finally finished on the 17__th__ of June.  
>But however the story will develop, I will always look forward for improvement suggestions.<em>

_One request as always: Please write reviews for the story. This is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	33. Beyond Belief

_**Notes from the Author: **__Hey hey! Two days passed without uploading … but don't worry! I will write and upload __**one chapter each day until this Sunday**__ because I have a longer weekend now, which is very nice. :)_

_However, please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!_  
><em>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

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><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 33: Beyond Belief -/-/**

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><p><strong>Inside Gorman's Hideout – Late Afternoon:<strong>

"_Really … how the heck did she get in here? I locked the door this morning and …" _thought Gorman while he looked at the mysterious person with long white hair, luminous green eyes and a beautiful red dress. Gorman was not the only one who was confused at this moment. Everyone else looked deep into her mysterious, green eyes and their heads were filled with several questions.

_"Are y-you really the one who saved my R-Romani?"_ asked Cremia with fear. Was she a goddess who heard her praying?  
><em>"Yes, Cremia Romani. I led your little sister through the Cave of the Blind Hunters. I asked her to follow my voice"<em> answered the mysterious woman. Her voice had something strange on it. Her voice is really hard to describe to a mortal being like we are. When she spoke, her voice was … well … somehow powerful in the long ears of every Terminan … and in the round ears of Nazran and Joseph too of course. Her voice sounded so powerful and daunting … but somehow it was also calm and wise. Her words silenced calmed the hearts of our heroes … but filled them with fear and respect at the same time.

"_How … how did you know my full name?!"_ asked Cremia in a surprised expression. Her question was valid … how could she know her name? The mysterious woman had never seen her before … or did she? But she didn't answer. Instead she looked at Joseph, who was afraid of her and admired her beauty at the same time. Gorman, the Bombers, Romani and Cremia were afraid of her too.  
>She scared everyone … but somehow she also filled everyone's heart with hope and new strength … and the mysterious woman recognized the fear in the eyes of everyone.<p>

"_Don't be afraid. I am not your enemy"_ said the woman to everyone who feared her. The fearful ones gulped … took a deep breath … pulled oneself together and tried to trust her. Maybe … and hopefully … she was not another enemy. Well … to be honest … she saved Romani and Joseph before. If she wanted them dead, she wouldn't have helped them at all.  
>Romani was hugging Cremia's skirt again. At first she was afraid too … but after her words entered Romani's heart … she wasn't afraid anymore. Instead Romani put all her courage together, released Cremia's skirt from her little hands and went in front of the mysterious woman.<br>The woman smiled while she looked with her luminous green eyes into Romani's deep-blue eyes … and Romani smiled too.

"_T-Thank you … dear lady. Romani is very thankful for your help. But please … tell Romani … no w-wait … better tell everyone who you are and how you get in here without knocking on the door …"_ asked Romani meekly. The woman smiled and answered the questions of everyone.  
><em>"My name is Xenocturna. Or that is the name that most people give to me"<em> answered the mysterious woman and introduced herself.  
><em>"Xenocturna … that's a very unknown name here in Termina. Are you from Termina?"<em> asked Romani courageously.  
><em>"I am not from Termina, my young Romani. Neither am I what Joseph calls Earth"<em> said Xenocturna and glimpsed to Joseph. What the heck? Did she know Joseph was not from Termina? Her answer caused Joseph to think again. Maybe … maybe she knows how he came into this world. Is Xenocturna the guide that helps him to put all pieces of the puzzle together?

"_Okay. If you are not from Termina … where is Xenocturna from?"_ asked Romani.  
><em>"Let me explain it to you: I am floating across the universe … and I am passing through the gate. I am the ambassador of eternity … telling you of love and hate. I am never too early … and never too late … when I pass through the Cosmic Gate. My home is the space … living between stars full of grace"<em> answered Xenocturna in her voice of mystery.  
><em>"You live between the stars? Romani is confused right now … Xenocturna speaks in mysteries"<em> answered Romani and Xenocturna laughed slightly. Romani was too cute when she was confused.

"_Well … if that's what you say is true … then … can you tell us what those weird things are that are attacking us? I mean those weird insectile creatures"_ asked Kafei and he was right. If Xenocturna is really "floating across the universe" then she might know them better than every Terminan ever could.  
><em>"Yes, Kafei Dotour. I can answer your question. And also the questions from Joseph, Cremia, Anju, Romani, Tim, Jim, Gorman, Nazran and Link"<em> said Xenocturna. She knew all names including their surnames. But how?!

"_The insectile creatures that are attacking Termina, and other civilizations as well, are called "The Exigoz". The Exigoz are an intelligent and brutal insectile civilization that invented the technology to create portals wherever they like to. They also invented the, so called, Cosmic Gate"_ said Xenocturna … but Joseph interrupted her.  
><em>"The cosmic what? This … wow … this sounds so weird … and overwhelming …"<em> said Joseph.

_"For a person like you, Joseph Kaminski, I understand that it sounds weird. Even though you see the weirdest things in your video games all the time, such things in a human's reality are always weird, aren't they?" _replied Xenocturna. She didn't only know his name but also his passion … to play video games. Joseph was not from Termina … so she must also know how he came to this world! Her answer only let Joseph's mouth open because of her overwhelming knowledge.

_"W-Wow. You… you know so much about us … uhm … I … I feel really sorry to interrupt you … but … please … can you answer my questions?"_ asked Joseph and Xenocturna nodded slightly with a smile. It was time to solve the biggest mystery Joseph was ever confronted with. But first Joseph had to confront Xenocturna with his questions:

_"Okay. First of all: I … I still don't understand how I came to Termina. I am not even sure if all of this is … just a dream … or if it is virtual reality … or if we are just fantasy in someone's head? Is all of this even real? I mean … this world is … well … it … it is made in a computer game as well! Everyone next to me, from Cremia to Anju, from Kafei to Link, from Gorman to Nazran, everyone is a character in this game. Even Clock-Town, the Romani-Ranch and the Pirate-Fortress … every place is in this game as well. But now everything looks and feels so real. And this game called "Majoras Mask" was invented somewhere by someone … fifteen fucking years ago! How is it possible that I only had to touch a little piece of plastic that contains a bit electronic to land in a world like this? How did I get into this world that exists in a computer game … but feels so real right now?  
>It … it is absolutely impossible that … that Link is just a bunch of data. It is absolutely impossible that Romani's intelligence and feelings are programmed by a human. It is absolutely impossible that Cremia's pain and her emotional screams are only ones and zeroes. And last but not least: It is absolutely impossible that the arrow that flew next to my head in the Cave of the Blind Hunters was harmless … same with the energy projectile that nearly killed Cremia and me in the Pirate-Fortress before. Every danger feels so real.<br>All of this … it … it can't be real … no really … it can't … but it is!  
>I came back home from a regular school day … and I landed here. How? Please Xenocturna … I … I finally want to know it!"<em>

After Joseph released his questions and his contradicting theories, he took a deep breath. Everyone looked at him because nobody really understood what he was talking about. What's a computer game? What is "to program" something? What are data? Nobody really knew … except for Xenocturna. She smiled and understood our upset Joseph.  
><em>"Let me answer your questions"<em> said Xenocturna and everyone looked into her green eyes. Cremia, Romani and Link were also curious about Joseph's origin. And Xenocturna began with:

"_Now that I am here, breaking my relationship with time and space, I want to satisfy your curiosity, Joseph Kaminski. All of this is real. The enchanted wind of the spring flowers, the tingling emotion of warm white sea sand, the pure and carefree smile of a child as the original nature of honesty, the silence of forest in the early morning which is only interrupted by the lonely call of a bird, the freshness of the unspoiled nature and even the pure rage of evil … all of this is reality. Nothing of this is virtual. This world, which its inhabitants gave the name Termina, is a world like yours, Joseph. The only difference is … this world is a parallel world in a parallel universe. The universe and the reality as you know it … they are not the only existing one. The universe is much more complex than humans will ever be able to understand. You traveled from your world into their world" _

So one riddle was solved … Termina was a parallel world. Not a virtual reality and not a dream. Maybe Xenocturna was right about it. Is the absolute and total reality much bigger and much more complex than our weak human minds could ever understand? However the answer to this question is, there were other important questions for Joseph. _"How? How can I travel through the whole universe into another universe by just touching a little piece of plastic?"_ asked Joseph.

_"You only see the surface … but you don't see what's inside it. This "piece of plastic" contains a special transmitter that connects you to the Cosmic Gate. The Cosmic Gate is a special portal-technology, invented by the Exigoz, which allows you and everyone who connects with it, to travel through parallel worlds. Every transmitter has a special signature that will always bring you to a very special world. And the transmitter that you touched brought you to Termina"_ answered Xenocturna.

This was it. Joseph's confusion was finally gone … well at least for this moment. Termina was a parallel world and so was Joseph, which he entered by a special portal-technology. Joseph's mind was satisfied for the first time since he came to Termina and everything was much clearer.  
><em>"Thank you so much, Xenocturna. I … I understand now. I still have questions … and I am overwhelmed what a regular person like me is experiencing right now … but … I think the other ones have questions too … and I want to be polite … hehe …"<em> said Joseph, smiled and looked at the other ones, who smiled at him too. He moved back and let the other ones ask too.

"_Xenocturna … is this vortex over Clock-Town a portal too?"_ asked Romani and looked at Xenocturna with her innocent blue eyes.  
><em>"The light blue vortex is one of the Cosmic Gates. The Exigoz are sending their soldiers through the portal. The city behind the portal, which you saw earlier, is one of their small military bases. They plan to build a city too … but they want to eradicate every form of life first"<em> answered Xenocturna.

_"But how can we defeat such an overpowered enemy?"_ asked Kafei in a hopeless and worried voice.  
><em>"The Exigoz are connected with each other. Every drone, every soldier, every worker of the Exigoz are connected to a central brain. If the connection is interrupted, every Exigoz-Creature will die instantly. To interrupt the connection … you have to close the Cosmic-Gate over Clock-Town"<em> said Xenocturna.

"_You're funny, my lady. How can we close such a big portal? With planks and nails?"_ asked Nazran.  
><em>"The Swamp. The Mountain. The Ocean. And the Canyon. The legends of Termina say that in every region lives one giant. Those giants prevented the fall of the moon before … and they are also powerful enough to close the portal over Clock-Town and to withstand the forces of the Exigoz. They must be awakened again. The young Hero of Time, Link, already did this before … and I believe in the united power of the Fellowship that you can manage it together"<em> said Xenocturna. She was right with the fact that they are strong together. But even if the Fellowship was strong … now the whole destiny of Termina and its inhabitants lasted on the shoulders of ten people.

"_Well … uhm … this sounds great. Should I also bring the Ring to Mordor?" _asked Joseph jokingly. Xenocturna smiled, looked at Joseph and said:  
><em>"I like your humor, Joseph. But never forget: This is not a game or a movie. Never forget that"<em>

Joseph nodded and smiled too. That was not the right time for jokes. It was clear who the enemy was, what the enemy wanted and how our courageous and strong Fellowship can defeat this strong enemy together.  
>Suddenly something very strange happened … something nobody would have expected. Xenocturna didn't smile anymore and put her right hand on her chest … in front of her heart to be exact. What was wrong? Was she hurt? Did she felt pain?<p>

"_I … I must leave very soon. Please … save this world from the greed of the Exigoz … at least this innocent world" _said Xenocturna.  
>But she didn't leave immediately. Before she went away, she turned to everyone individually and gave them new hope and new power. Like she knew they really need it at this moment.<p>

"_Anju Dotour … may your benevolence be the light through this age of darkness"_ said Xenocturna to Anju and filled her heart with new hope.

_"Cremia Romani … may your love fill the saddest hearts and show the loveless the other side of the medal"_ said Xenocturna to Cremia and filled her heart with new hope.

_"Ross Gorman … may your strength move the heaviest boulders away and may your eyes see through the darkness to reveal every hidden path on your journey"_ said Xenocturna to Gorman and filled his heart with new hope.

_"Jim and Tim Silvernarr … may your swiftness and your sense of justice be the brake for every threat in Termina"_ said Xenocturna to Jim and Tim and filled their hearts with new hope.

_"Joseph Kaminski … may your knowledge ignite the passion of curiosity in every person who search for answers and the right path" _said Xenocturna to Joseph and filled his heart with new hope.

_"Kafei Dotour … may your sincerity and your honesty lead Termina into a golden age of peace and prosperity"_ said Xenocturna to Kafei and filled his heart with new hope.

_"Link … may your courage be the torch through the darkest caves and the sword against the faces of evil" _said Xenocturna to Link and filled his heart with new hope.

_"Nazran Tumarkis … may your prudence and your hopes unite the Gerudo and guide them into a brave new world"_ said Xenocturna to Nazran and filled her heart with new hope.

_"Romani Romani … may your fortitude and your arrows be the inspiration for every future hero in Termina"_ said Xenocturna to Romani and filled her heart with new hope too.

After Xenocturna spoke these words … she disappeared in front of our ten heroes. This warm feeling around their hearts was giving them new energy … new power … new passion. Also some of their questions were answered … finally. It was decided … the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch had to defeat the Exigoz by awakening the giants of Termina … to finally bring peace back to Termina.

But where will our heroes go first? Swamp, mountain, ocean or canyon?  
>Where did Xenocturna go?<br>And how can they awaken the giants of Termina?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 33 \-\-\**

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><p><em><strong>Notes from the Author: <strong>__Don't worry, not all questions are solved now ;)  
>For example it is still not clear who Xenocturna exactly is or why there is such a world like Termina in a video-game. I will save that for later ;P<em>

Yo dawg! I heard you like universes, so I put a universe into a universe, so you can travel in that universe while you are traveling in the other universe.

_One request as always: Please write reviews for the story. This is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	34. The Silence before the Storm

_**Notes from the Author: **__Sorry for uploading so late (2:42 AM) but I was swimming until 9:30 PM and I went to a pub with a good friend of mine until 1:20 AM. But most readers are from USA anyways, so I don't think you will mind :P_

_GrayFox786 asked me to draw Xenocturna. I agree with this suggestion and I will draw her if I get the right amount of time for it. By the way, I nearly finished the Artwork for "Chapter 2 – The Forest of Nope", so you will soon see how Joseph went through the eerie forest lonely. ;)_

_However, please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!_  
><em>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

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><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 34: The Silence before the Storm -/-/**

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><p><strong>Inside Gorman's Hideout – Early Evening:<strong>

"_Whoa … what the …?"_ asked Gorman to himself. As fast as Xenocturna appeared, she also disappeared. In a matter of milliseconds she vanished into thin air.  
>Whoever this mysterious woman with the unusual name Xenocturna was, she knew a lot … and maybe she had powers, which nobody could have ever imagined.<br>On this early evening in the Darkwood Forest, or inside Gorman's Hideout to be exact, our heroes finally got enlightened about their enemy and also Joseph's restless mind was satisfied too.  
>But there were still some questions left … questions that only the Fellowship itself can answer together.<p>

"_Whoever Xenocturna is, I think we can trust her. She saved Romani and maybe her words to us will save Termina from the Exigoz too"_ said Kafei to the rest.  
><em>"We have no other choice but trusting her. If that's what she says is true, then we must awaken the four Giants … and we shouldn't dawdle with doing so!"<em> said Cremia to the other ones.  
>"<em>I agree with sister. But … where should we go first?"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"Well … uhm … good question indeed"<em> said Link to Romani. Link was used to be guided by a fairy. Either Navi or Tatl guided him through Hyrule or Termina, so he always knew where to go. But this time even our Hero of Time was astray on the path of their future.

While the other ones discussed about the next destination, Joseph and Nazran both went back to the table with the map on it. This map was way bigger, way more detailed but also much more complex than the one that Anju gave Joseph, Romani and Link on their journey through the cold mountains before.  
><em>"Hmmm …"<em> thought Joseph and scratched his chin beard. He looked all over Termina and realized how big it actually is. It had majestic and cold mountains in the north, a salty and pirate-dominated ocean in the west, poisonous and populous swamps in the south and a deadly and depressive canyon in the east.  
><em>"What do you think, Joseph? Where should we risk our lives first?"<em> asked Nazran.  
>Joseph didn't answer at first because he looked on the map and tried to follow the discussion, which Cremia, Kafei, Gorman, Link and Romani held besides. He didn't even recognize Anju and the Bombers, who were at the map table too and stood next to him and Nazran.<p>

"_Well … good question, Nazran. If that's what Link told me on the ranch before is true, then every place is dangerous on its own. The swamps are full of insects and poisonous plants, also the water might be not really friendly to our skins. The Ocean is still dominated by Aveil and the Gerudo; and I really really __**really**__ do not want to see Aveil again. The mountains are so cold and frosty; I can use my snot as chopsticks there. The canyon should be dangerous as well because it is haunted. I don't believe in ghosts or other paranormal activity, but … well … this is a parallel world and I've already seen the craziest things here. No place seems to be the best option …"_ said Joseph while he pointed at every zone on the map.

As already mentioned, the Gerudo are very good strategists and they can plan every detail on a map very well. But this time even Nazran was stumped for an answer. The Bombers, who know every secret passage in Termina, are also stumped for an answer. Our Anju was silent and watched the strategists discussing.  
><em>"I am not really sure if we should do this, but I think the best way might be this:"<em> began Nazran and pointed on the south-eastern side of the Darkwood-Forest, where they are right now.  
><em>"If we are here … and ignore the possible dangers at first … then it will be the best option to go to the south; straight through the Woods of Mystery and to the Magic Hag's Potion Shop. Maybe this hag knows more about how to awaken the giants"<em> said Nazran.

"_M-May I make a suggestion too?"_ asked Anju carefully.  
><em>"Of course Anju"<em> said Joseph and focused his hearing on her.  
><em>"Now you made me curious, Anju"<em> said Nazran and focused her hearing on her as well.  
><em>"What if we just stay here for one more day? I m-mean the Exigoz aren't sleeping … I know … but we shouldn't rush and land straight into their arms. Let's prepare some equipment, let's eat and rest. We ran so much yesterday, my feet are still hurting. And as we already experienced, the forest we are in right now, is dangerous at night. What if we get attacked by that giant spider again? Oh … I … uhm … I am sorry … I shouldn't have interrupted you … sorry …"<em> said Anju meekly and apologized for her own suggestion.

"_Hmmm … you don't have to apologize, Anju. To be honest, I think your suggestion sounds quite reasonable. We need to face the situation first and we really should prepare ourselves for this hard journey very well. Or what do you think about it, Nazran, Jim and Tim?"_ said Joseph and agreed with Anju.  
><em>"I agree too"<em> said Jim and Tim at the same time.  
><em>"Hmmm … I think you are right. Let's sleep over this, rest for one more night and prepare ourselves in the morning. Let's hope the Exigoz won't attack tonight …"<em> answered Nazran.

The other ones got instructed in Anju's suggestion as well and they agreed with her too. It is very rare to see so much union. Everyone agreed with her and they took a deep breath together.  
>So it was one more night in Gorman's Hideout. One more night to rest their hurting feet, one more night to digest the devastation and the deadly situations that our heroes experienced since a few days and one more night to prepare everything for a new journey … a dangerous journey that will either lead our heroes into glory and peace … or into pain and death.<p>

A few hours passed and the sun set between the eerie and tall trees of the forest … causing the peaceful forest to turn into a place of danger and fear again. Nazran, Link, the Bombers and Kafei stood next to the map table and wrote down everything they might need for their journey. They also wrote down the route which they will pass.  
>Nazran suggested that it might be the best idea to begin in the swamps and walk clockwise through each region. First the swamp, then the ocean, then the mountains and their last station will be the canyon. The Bombers told them some secret passages they might use for later. Link thought about the needed equipment and Kafei helped Nazran in planning the routes.<p>

While five of our heroes planned, some other heroes used the time to rest a bit.  
>Joseph was sitting on a chair and looked out of the window … and the view let him just realize his unbelievable situation.<br>_"Damn. How lucky … or unlucky … do I have to be to land in such a parallel world? This is still so unbelievable. Well … now I know everything is real. My new friends but also the Exigoz; the beauty of Termina and also its dangerousness; everything is real. That's just amazing. A regular young and dreamy person like me, who attends a regular college, entered this world and is walking along the path through the edge of the impossible. But … why me? I am not even sure if I should be thankful for that … or if I should fret about it …"_ thought Joseph and tried to digest the truth.

He entered a whole new world. Our Joseph is just a regular person, a person who lived in the technologically advanced world we all live in right now. He got dragged through a Cosmic Gate into another world and another universe.  
>Not only the fact that Termina or the Exigoz itself exists at all and not only the fact that we humans have not the slightest idea how the clockwork of the universe actually works caused an overwhelming feeling in Joseph. It was also the fact that <strong>he<strong> was the person who got dragged into this world. It could have been one of his friends in his world … or maybe also you.  
>You could be the one who represents Joseph right now. A regular school day in the morning … and an adventurous journey in the evening … how could he have known that?<p>

But not only Joseph was thinking in this unusual moment of silence. Cremia used this moment of silence to think too. Hard times began for our beautiful, redheaded rancher with long ears … very hard times to be exact. Her sister and she nearly got killed by a raging pirate queen. If that wasn't already enough, she lost the only thing she had besides her sister … her home together with her cows. Not only was the home of Romani and Cremia destroyed … also their hopes for a better future were gone.  
>Our Cremia had the hope that her sister will someday have the life she never had. A more prosperous future, where she doesn't have to fear the edge of poverty anymore. A future, where her sister will get the husband she really deserves … who fills her heart with love and who raises a lovely family with her. But she also hoped for a future, where her sisters' bones won't be broken by the massive amount of work and chores … where she has some time to play together with the ones she loves in the early evening.<p>

The view of the bloody body of Romani, the ruins of the ranch and the squeezed cows still haunted her mind. Holding her own, nearly dead, sister in her hands and imaging the final loss of her family … Cremia wouldn't be able to withstand such an amount of pain. Did the Romani sisters and any other person in Termina deserve such pain and torture? Certainly not! But not everything in this world was bad. Cremia knew that and tried to suppress the thoughts of darkness with good thoughts.  
>She met a lot of new people and maybe in this situation Cremia also had the opportunity to show her true power for the first time in her life. It was time to make her ancestors, her dead parents and her cute and courageous sister proud.<p>

Cremia was sunken deeply in her own thoughts. This special moment of silence helped her a lot. It is not wrong to describe it as some kind of meditation … to let her focus on the right things again and to give her new strength.  
>But somehow our Cremia was confronted with another problem. A problem that was way more complex than everything else she was confronted with before. Cremia looked at Kafei, who was still helping the Fellowship in planning the routes. She took a deep breath and exhaled some of her unsatisfied hopes together with warm air.<br>After she looked at Kafei, she also looked to Joseph, who was more sunken in his own thoughts than Cremia while sitting on a chair.

Cremia likes Kafei and Joseph. They are very good friends to her and to see such brave and obliging young man filled her heart with a warm feeling … but they also awakened some kind of painful feeling in her. This feeling is … strange … and nothing a person like me could describe with words.  
>Cremia sighed … and her view turned to the ground … leaving nothing behind but a sad Cremia.<p>

"_Sis? Is everything okay with you?"_ asked Romani suddenly and Cremia veiled her true feelings again.  
><em>"Oh … uhm … I am fine, Romani. What about you?"<em> asked Cremia with a fake smile.  
><em>"Romani is fine. But … sister … please do not lie to Romani. I want to help you if you feel sad"<em> said Romani … and her answer overwhelmed Cremia. This was it; Romani already saw what's behind her veil of fake emotions.  
><em>"I … uhm … Romani, I …"<em> tried Cremia to speak. She was not able to do it anymore. Lying to her sister even more would be the wrong choice right now … so Cremia dropped her veil … and showed her true face to Romani. But before Cremia could explain anything, Romani already spoke.

_"Actually … Romani is sad too. The loss of our ranch, our cows and our friends in Clock-Town is so much depressing. Nobody deserved this. But Romani thinks that there is still hope. Maybe I am naïve … but I believe in us and our strength. We watch out for each other. Blueberry watched over Romani in this dark cave with the hunters and the spiders … and Romani watched over Blueberry. Whenever my sister is in danger, I will come and help her! We are strong together. And after we defeated the Exigoz, we will build a new ranch and a new Clock-Town. Maybe the new ranch will be even more beautiful! Together with Grasshopper and Blueberry, we will deliver food to Clock-Town. We will be a happy family like we were before our parents died. Sister, whatever will await us on our journey, we will always watch out for you, Romani promises!"_ said Romani … and hugged her sister.

Cremia was overwhelmed. Her dreamy little sister who always lived behind Fairytales was maybe more adult than she ever has thought of. Her hopes for a better future were not gone … and her words touched the very bottom of her heart, causing her to release tears of new hope and joy too. Cremia was so happy to be next to her sister right now. Was this the "pure and carefree smile of a child, as the original nature of honesty" that Xenocturna mentioned earlier?

Anju and Gorman both heard Romani's words and the hug too. They just had to stop what they did at this moment and watch this hug. Both released tears too. The love was probably healing Cremia's deepest wounds … as corny as it may sound.

"_Okay, everyone listens up!"_ said Gorman and everyone listened up.  
><em>"I made some dinner for you. Let's eat together before we start the journey tomorrow in the later morning" <em>

The stomachs of each hero were already growling. A tasty dinner and some soft beds afterwards … too bad that this luxury won't last for much longer after they recovered on this special day.  
>Will our heroes be successful on their mission?<br>Can Termina be saved by only ten people?  
>And will they be able to rebuild Termina afterwards?<p>

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 34 \-\-\**

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><p><em>One request as always: Please write reviews for the story. This is helping me a lot in improving my writing skills. I write this FanFiction for fun, to release my creativity but also to improve my writing skills in a foreign language. So please criticize me if you don't like something or if you find mistakes. <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	35. The Woods of Mystery

_**Notes from the Author:  
><strong>__Hello Internet, this is Kornelius Prisma again and now it is time for chapter 35.  
>But wait! There is more! I also finished the Artwork for Chapter 2: The Forest of Nope, so I will upload an updated version of the chapter together with its Artwork today too. :)<em>

_Last time no one reviewed. If that's the case, then I assume that the chapter was good or at least "okay". As mentioned earlier: Your reviews, no matter if it is positive or negative feedback, are helping me in improving my writing a lot. So if you have some time left and think "Meh, maybe I should tell him that this chapter was good / complete bullshit" then let me know it ;P_

However, please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 35: The Woods of Mystery -/-/**

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><p><strong>Inside Gorman's Hideout – In the early morning:<strong>

"_Ugh … what the …?"_ asked a dazed Nazran while laying in her improvised bed. After our heroes ate the dinner in the evening, they immediately went to sleep to recover for one more night. The night was calm and refreshing and everyone dreamt sweetly, which was very unusual in the last days … not only for her but also for the rest of the Fellowship.

While Nazran slowly woke up, she smelt something strange. Was this the scent of … of something burnt? Nazran immediately opened her eyes and stood up. She looked around and … there was some smoke in the room!  
><em>"Uh oh … not good. Wake up! Fire!"<em> shouted the still dazed Nazran and woke everybody up with her sudden fire alarm.  
><em>"C-Calm down, N-Nazran … it is j-just me …"<em> said a known voice behind her. Nazran turned around and saw a surprised Anju standing behind the stove … together with a pan in her hands.  
><em>"What the heck are you doing there?"<em> asked Nazran, but the answer seemed quite obvious.  
><em>"I … I made some … pancakes … because of b-breakfast … s-sorry for waking you … s-sorry …"<em> answered Anju in a stuttering voice.  
><em>"Ah … it's okay. At least you are not charring us … and I am also a bit hungry, so some food would be nice indeed"<em> answered Nazran.

Nazran's alarming shout caused the rest of the Fellowship to wake up. Everyone wondered about the burning smell … but it was just Anju who made pancakes for them. Hopefully she did not char the tasty breakfast.  
>Everyone sat down on the dinner table and while Anju handed out her pancakes, Kafei asked her:<br>_"Honey, thanks for the breakfast. But why are you awake so early in the morning?"_  
><em>"Well … I don't know why. Sleeping on foreign places always made me nervous … maybe I woke up so early because of this"<em> replied Anju. She was used to the bed in the Stock Pot Inn … but now there was nothing left of the Inn anymore … only burned debris and wrecked hopes.

Our dazed Joseph, who awaited a tasty breakfast, first looked at the pancakes and saw that they were quite dark at some points. He raised his eyebrows while looking at them. He'd never seen such strange pancakes before.  
>He looked around into the faces of his friends to check their reaction to the food. Cremia did the same and looked into Joseph's eyes. Her deep blue eyes were opened widely while she looked into Joseph's dark brown eyes.<br>Gasp! Uhm … what the …? Why was Cremia shaking her head slightly? Was she telling him on a nonverbal way that eating Anju's food was not a good idea?

Cremia immediately changed her facial expression to a smile after she saw that Anju turned to them. Joseph did the same and showed his probably fakest smile ever.  
><em>"Do you like my pancakes?"<em> asked Anju to Joseph. She looked into his eyes and expected him to try them out. So he slowly took the fork and tried a little piece of them. The pancakes tasted like a burned piece of wood in his mouth. While he tried to withstand the … aroma … he smiled at her, nodded his head and said:  
><em>"… they … are good … <em>_***cough***__ … very good, Anju …"_  
><em>"Awww thank you, Joseph. I am glad you like it"<em> replied Anju.

He gulped and tried to suppress the pain caused by the dry and burnt piece of wood … I mean pancakes.  
>Cremia, Romani and Kafei looked at him while he choked … and that caused them to chuckle.<br>Anju was for sure not the best cook.  
><em>"Can we have some sugar for the pancakes? A lot of sugar …"<em> asked Jim.  
><em>"Uhm … sure …"<em> replied Anju and took a bottle of sugar out of Gorman's drawer.  
>Good idea … maybe the sugar could mask the bad taste … together with some water to change the painful dryness too. At last the pancakes were enjoyable after Jim's sudden idea.<p>

After our heroes more or less enjoyed a carnival of senses while eating Anju's spicy pancakes, they prepared everything they need for their journey.  
>Nazran introduced everyone in her plans for the routes. First station: Through the Woods of Mystery, past the Old Hag's Potion Ship and straight to the Deku Palace.<br>Link wrote a list of needed equipment yesterday, so our heroes had their needed and important equipment very fast.  
>Some food for later meals was given to Cremia.<br>Some red potions as medics were given to Anju.  
>Some empty bottles for water were given to everyone.<br>Some arrows and other weapons were given to Romani, Link, and everyone who was armed.  
>Some backpacks to store all of the equipment was given to everyone.<br>The big map and the compass that Nazran and the other strategists used to plan their routes was given to Nazran, also two smaller maps were given to Link and Joseph.  
>Gorman and the Bombers Jim and Tim took some candles and torches with them while Kafei got some food- and water-reserves too.<p>

Our heroes were equipped and ready to face the incoming dangers, the future of Termina and probably death itself. Everybody looked at each other; they took a deep breath together, nodded and all of our ten heroes left the hideout of Gorman.  
><em>"Right … that's it. This is where the easy part is over now. Time to save the world!"<em> said Nazran to the rest.  
><em>"I hope my equipment will be useful for us"<em> said Gorman to the rest.  
><em>"Your equipment will be very useful indeed, Mister Gorman. Okay, now let's go to the Woods of Mystery"<em> replied Kafei.  
><em>"The Woods of Mystery are … about here. We have to go straight into this direction …"<em> answered Nazran to Kafei and the rest while looking at the compass and pointing towards the southern forest.  
><em>"Wow … if I ever get the change to come home … nobody will ever believe me …"<em> said Joseph to the rest.  
><em>"I think we can say the same about us. We never expected an attack like this …"<em> answered Cremia to Joseph. She was right. Not only Joseph has seen some weird stuff in Termina. Beginning from people who live like in medieval times and have long ears like in some fantasy stories up to some things that are contradicting with Joseph's physically and scientific way of thinking … everything was new in this world.  
>Also the Terminan inhabitants, beginning from three ranchers and a young Hero of Time, up to a pirate-soldier and some citizens of Clock-Town, have seen things that they've never thought about before.<p>

While our heroes walked through the quite peaceful forest, which was very dangerous at night but now flooded with daylight, they arrived at a bigger hill.  
><em>"This hill might give us a better view … let's climb on top of it!"<em> instructed Nazran to the Fellowship.  
>Everybody went up the hill and after about ten minutes, our heroes were on top of the hill.<br>Side by side they stood next to each other while they enjoyed the view together.  
>Romani was hugging her sisters' arm; Joseph was surprised by the beauty of the swamp and the forests; Nazran was focused on her map and her compass and didn't enjoy the view at all and the Bombers only said <em>"wow"<em> while they looked at the trees and the big purple mountain called "Woodfall".

"_Wow … so this is the swamp …"_ said Joseph.  
><em>"Yes, this is the swamp my dear Joseph. We have to go through this forest over here and past the place where the smoke raises up … and then straight to the Deku Palace …"<em> said Nazran to him and the rest.  
><em>"It is beautiful … I live … or lived in a city and I've never seen the beauty of nature for a long time since then …" <em>said Joseph.  
><em>"It might be beautiful from up here … but the swamp is a dangerous place, never forget that my dear Joseph. Several creatures are populating the forest and lots of insects are crawling through the muddy ground. Some of them are dangerous and poisonous but some of them can be even used as food …"<em> said Nazran.  
><em>"Well … eating <em>_G__rasshoppers … sounds great … I guess …"_ said Cremia sarcastically.  
><em>"Why does sister wants to eat my Grasshopper?"<em> asked Romani and pointed at Link while she asked in her innocent voice.  
><em>"Oh … uhm … Romani, I meant eating real grasshoppers and not our Link … hehehe"<em> replied Cremia to Romani while Link blushed because of Romani's lovely innocence. Also Romani's cute question caused everyone to laugh.

_"What I've heard before, some insects are quite tasty …"_ said Joseph.  
><em>"Where did you get that information from?"<em> asked Tim and was doubtful because of his statement.  
><em>"Uhm … Internet …"<em> replied Joseph but Tim was even more confused after his answer.  
><em>"There is no time to waste! Now let's move towards the Woods of Mystery …"<em> said Gorman … and he was right. Dawdling was not a good idea now. Around the purple mountain in the center of the swamps, named Woodfall, flew two of the Exigoz-Drones. No idea what they wanted there …  
><em>"Whatever those Exigoz are doing here … it means nothing good …"<em> was the last sentence on the hill, which came from Anju, before our heroes finally climbed down the hill.

Step by step climbed our heroes down and arrived at the Woods of Mystery after another ten minutes. The Woods of Mystery are a jungle-like kind of forest, which had plenty of Flora in it.  
>Some of the tropical birds could be heard in the Woods of Mystery and …<br>_"Gasp! What's this?"_ asked Tim while he felt something weird on his left leg.  
><em>"Wow … now that's a huge centipede …"<em> said Romani to him while looking on his leg. On his small left leg was a big brown centipede, which was about four times bigger than the ones we know in our world.  
><em>"Yikes! Get it off my leg!"<em> said our young Bomber while he tried to shake it off.  
>After three attempts of shaking it off, the centipede fell of his leg and crawled away from him through the bushes.<br>_"Don't worry, the centipedes are harmless …"_ said Gorman to Tim.  
><em>"And they are disgusting …"<em> he replied.

"_Mister Gorman, what exactly is so mysterious about the Woods of Mystery?"_ asked Kafei. The forest was full of insects and more like a jungle … but what exactly was mysterious about it?  
><em>"Well … uhm … I never understood that either. Maybe because of the bigger insects or maybe because it is a very dense forest … I don't really know either …"<em> replied Gorman.  
><em>"I was already in the Woods of Mystery once. First it looked like a normal forest to me, but I believe you can easily get lost in it. Maybe that's the mystery … but that is just a guess"<em> said Link.  
>Link knew a similar forest … but this one was not jungle-like … yes, I am talking about the Lost Woods.<br>_"Well … I guess we will find it out very soon …"_ replied Nazran.

While our heroes walked carefully trough the Woods of Mystery, they heard the screams of tropical birds and the rustle of the plants caused by the gentle wind. They smelled the tropical scent of the tall trees together with the greenish scent of the colorful plants. They felt a gentle and soft heat on their skin, caused by the sunlight, and also the muddy ground beneath their feet, which left the shape of their shoes and boots in it with every footstep.

Even though the bushes were rustling by the wind, one of the bushes was rustling even more … or was it? Romani heard the louder rustle with her sharp sense of hearing and turned around to the bush.  
><em>"What was that?"<em> asked Romani and everybody turned around to her.  
><em>"What's wrong, Redleaf?"<em> asked Link in a surprised voice.  
><em>"Romani thought she has heard something moving between the bushes …"<em> replied Romani.  
><em>"It was only the wind, young Romani. Nothing to worry about"<em> said Gorman to her.  
><em>"Well … if you say so …"<em> answered Romani and turned to their original path together with the rest of the Fellowship again.

Will our heroes arrive at the Magic Hag's Potion Shop soon?  
>Or will the populous, jungle-like and muddy forest be their grave before they arrive?<br>And was Romani really only imaging a possible menace between the bushes?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 35 \-\-\**

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><p><em>Thanks for reading and reviewing!<em>


	36. Gorman's Gift

_**Notes from the Author: **__Chapter 2 is now finally updated. It will need some time until I can update chapter 3 as well, because I didn't even finish the pencil drawing for it yet. Also: I won't be able to write and upload the next chapter until this Thursday or maybe even Friday because I am awaiting three important exams in the next coming days. _

_But soon I will have Easter-holidays and be able to upload one chapter per day for about twelve days, which is very nice! :)_

Please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 36: Gorman's Gift -/-/**

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><p><strong>In the Woods of Mystery – Late Afternoon:<strong>

"_Nazran, where exactly are we? I don't remember that the Woods of Mystery are that big …"_ asked Link our Nazran, who held her map and the compass in front of her.  
><em>"According to the map we should already be at the Magic Hag's Potion Shop … but … it doesn't seem so …"<em> replied Nazran and scratched her head.  
><em>"Please don't tell us we are lost in this bug-verminous forest …"<em> said Anju to her as well.  
>Were our heroes already lost in the Woods of Mystery? But … Nazran looked at the map very carefully and orientated very well. She did not lie when she said that they should have already arrived at the Potion Shop.<p>

"_Nazran, look! Romani has found something!"_ said Romani to the main Navigator of the Fellowship … and pointed at … a rock?  
><em>"Yes? What's wrong with the rock?"<em> asked Nazran.  
><em>"Romani has already seen this rock before … four times since we go through the forest!"<em> said Romani to them.  
><em>"Are you sure, Romani?"<em> asked Cremia her little sister and Romani nodded.  
><em>"I am absolutely sure, sister! Also the trees, the ground and the size of this place is the same"<em> responded Romani.  
><em>"This means we are walking in circles! All the time since we have arrived in the forest!"<em> said Jim to the rest.  
><em>"I don't understand how this is possible. We have been walking straight forward for some hours … I also navigated by looking at the surroundings. How is it possible that we walk in circles?"<em> answered Nazran.  
><em>"This is mysterious indeed"<em> commented Joseph, scratched his chin beard and looked around.

"_Can you show me the place, where we are right now?"_ asked Kafei and went next to our young Gerudo.  
><em>"We should be around here … and we are looking to the south-east right now, so we should walk to the south over here …"<em> replied Nazran and pointed to all the places she mentioned.  
>Kafei and Joseph, who joined the map-readers as well, looked together with Nazran on the map and the compass.<br>_"Wait … what the … look at the compass!"_ said Kafei and … indeed something strange happened in that moment. Nobody was moving … but somehow the compass slowly turned its needle until it faced towards south-west.  
><em>"Another lesson in Terminan Physics today, huh?"<em> asked Joseph sarcastically and everyone else was surprised by the sudden movement of the needle too. Did the forest change the magnetic field of the earth? Or were the trees magnetic by themselves? How is that possible?  
><em>"I … I don't understand …"<em> said Kafei and scratched his head while looking confusingly at the map and the compass. Now the compass suddenly moved its needle to the north … but same as before … nobody was moving, so the needle moved by itself.  
><em>"Very mysterious indeed …"<em> said Nazran and was confused too.

While Nazran, Joseph and Kafei were philosophizing about the reason why the compass went crazy or why they are always walking in circles (because the compass wasn't really the only reason they walked in circles), Romani noticed another rustle in the bushes. The rustle was not because of the wind. Even though it was quite windy at that day, Romani wasn't fantasizing and she used her senses very well.  
><em>"Sister, look! The bush was moving again, Romani saw it with her own eyes!"<em> said Romani and tug at Cremia's blouse-sleeve.  
><em>"It was just the wind again, my dear Romani. Nothing to worry about"<em> replied Cremia.  
><em>"But sis … Romani is absolutely sure that the bush moved not only because of the wind …"<em> answered Romani in a disappointed voice. Why didn't her sister believe her?

But Cremia did Romani a favor and looked at the same bush together with her. Cremia's facial expression changed to surprised when the bush moved again. The rustle was definitely not only because of the wind, Romani was absolutely sure about it.  
><em>"Did sister see it too?"<em> asked Romani.  
><em>"Maybe you are right, Romani. This bush moved much faster than the other ones …"<em> said Cremia.  
><em>"What's wrong, Cremia?"<em> asked Anju, who saw the curious face of Cremia.  
><em>"Romani saw something moving in this bush over here. Maybe we aren't alone here …"<em> replied Cremia.  
><em>"Romani has an idea!"<em> said our Romani and she took her bow and one arrow. She aimed at the bush and shot the arrow straight towards the dense leafs of the bush.

Romani's plan worked. Out of the bush came a highly pitched kind of scream … but only for a very short amount of time. Now it was absolutely sure that our heroes weren't alone anymore.  
><em>"Oh no … watch out! We have a follower!"<em> shouted Anju to the rest of the Fellowship, causing our Navigators to turn to them and watch the bush for any threat together.  
><em>"There is something in the bushes. Romani is sure!"<em> said Romani.  
><em>"Romani! What do your elf eyes see?"<em> asked Joseph and was definitely not making an allusion to a well known fantasy literature.  
><em>"Romani doesn't know what, but it made some kind of scream …"<em> answered Romani.  
><em>"Well … let's find it out then …"<em> said Gorman, took his pitchfork and used it to move the dense leafs of the bush away.

But maybe Gorman's action was a bit too hasty because behind the bush was **it** again. Big, eight legs, lots of eyes, a big mouth and a body, which had the shape of a skull … and yes, I am talking about a Skulltula. The Skulltula released a loud scream, moved its mouth around and crawled out of the bush.  
><em>"W-Well … I guess it is t-time for running again …"<em> said Joseph. A word and a blow and everyone was already running, being chased by the Skullfaced-Killer again … but this time with daylight.  
><em>"Oh god … not this beast again … I am tired of those huge spiders …"<em> said Anju while running.  
><em>"I … I hope we won't get lost even more in this weird forest … why can't we just have a normal and peaceful day?" <em>asked Nazran. Running through the forest until they find a save spot again was no option this time and hopefully Joseph and Romani won't fall through a fissure and land in a cave with blind hunters again …

Step by step ran our heroes very fast through the forest while the treetops were cracking like crazy again. This beast was hungry for human flesh again … and hopefully for the last time … because running away from such Skulltulas was so exhausting. This time our heroes also had to watch out for branches, which were falling down from the upper tree levels. If such a thick branch had hit someone of our heroes, they would have lost their consciousness immediately.  
><em>"I … hate … those … spiders …"<em> said Joseph while running and trying to breath.  
><em>"I … guess … we … all … do …"<em> replied Tim.

Our heroes arrived at a small forest glade. At the end of the forest glade was sitting a … a monkey? This monkey with white fur was well known to our Link, because he already rescued them before … and they helped him too. Were they jumping and waving? It seemed so because maybe they wanted to help Link and his friends again … and our heroes needed every help they could get in this dangerous situation.  
><em>"Follow me! The monkeys are helping us!"<em> said Link to the rest … and everybody followed him.  
>After two minutes of running, our heroes were in front of the monkeys, who waved again. I guess they tried to say <em>"Follow me!" <em>with her hand movements.

The Fellowship had no other choice to trust Link and to follow his monkey-friends.  
>Another twenty minutes of running passed and our heroes followed the monkeys … but … unfortunately the big Skulltula was still after them … and it was fast … very fast to be exact.<br>_"I … uh … I can't run anymore … my feet are … hurting so much …"_ said Anju to the rest.  
><em>"Keep running, Honey. We have no choice and I don't want you to get eaten by that thing …"<em> replied Kafei. Everyone was exhausted again and they could really need …

***boom*** … could be heard and the ground trembled … because the Skulltula jumped down the treetops and landed behind Anju.  
><em>"Aaaaaah! Help me! Aaaaaah!"<em> screamed Anju because the beast was already grinding its hungry claws for her. Anju looked tasty for sure … maybe let's have a small bite of her tasty flesh …  
><em>"Not this time you greedy beast!"<em> shouted Gorman and turned to Anju.  
>He hit the beast with his pitchfork on its head … but as we already know … the skin of the beast was as hard as a knight's armor.<br>The beast was confused at first. Was such a silly human being really daring to attack it?  
><em>"Back off! Not this time …"<em> shouted Gorman and tried to scare the beast … but it was grinding its claws even more.  
><em>"Gorman! What are you doing?! Don't be stupid!"<em> shouted Cremia to her former rival.  
><em>"Fly you fools! I will do whatever I can … but you have to run away! Don't wait for me, I will handle this beast!"<em> replied Gorman to his former rival as well.  
><em>"But … Gorman …"<em> tried Cremia to say but she was dragged backwards by Romani and Link.  
><em>"Run now, or you will regret it!"<em> shouted Gorman to the Fellowship again and hit the head of the beast for another time.

"_Let's run, sister. Please …"_ said Romani and dragged Cremia back. Cremia then turned to the Fellowship again and followed the monkeys with it again … and Cremia was weeping while running. Was this the end of the possible corporation with the Gorman? The man, who attacked and sabotaged her sister earlier, was now one of her greatest allies. He helped her and her friends in Termina's darkest hour and he gave her and her friends a temporary home for a few days … and now … now he was helping them to escape … and was probably paying with his life for this.

After another thirty hours of running, our nine heroes finally arrived at a bigger forest glade, which also contained a waterfall and … and the Magic Hag's Potion Shop! Finally! Our heroes arrived at their first station. Now it was time … to catch their breath again … because running away … from a Skulltula … is so exhausting … whew! Let's wipe the sweat from the foreheads away!  
>They did it … and without the help of Link's monkeys and Gorman's courageous action … they wouldn't have made it.<br>_"Aaaaaargh …. Ah …. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"_ could be heard from afar. It was a loud scream, coming from a male person, who was probably in his middle age. Oh no … was this really what our heroes were thinking about?  
><em>"Gorman! Noooo!" <em>screamed Cremia. But … unfortunately … Cremia was right. It was the scream of Gorman … and it was a painful scream. It sounded like his body was separated in half by the beast's claws. Whatever happened to the courageous Gorman, he sacrificed his own life to protect the life of the other nine heroes of the Fellowship of the Ranch-Sisters.  
>Anju, Cremia, Jim, Joseph, Kafei, Link, Nazran, Romani and Tim were all sad on this bloody day of heroism. They lost the man, who gave them a place to think and plan their next steps, who gave them food and equipment for their dangerous journey and who was maybe giving them new hope too.<p>

"_I … I can't believe it that he …"_ tried Cremia to say. Joseph went next to her and tried to comfort her this time … but she only responded with: _"Leave me alone!"_  
>Our heroes rested for an hour at the waterfall. An hour for giving their hurting legs a little break, a hour to plan their next steps and also an hour to grieve over the death of one of their friends.<p>

Joseph, Nazran, Kafei and Anju were sitting next to the pond with the waterfall. All four felt sad about Gorman's last gift to them … but there was no time to rest now. They gathered all of their remaining power and planned their next steps together on Nazran's map and her compass, which was working again.  
>Cremia was sitting next to a tree and looked sad as well. She sunk deep into her own thoughts again.<br>_"Sister, let's be strong now. Romani is also sad because of Gorman … but … Romani thinks he doesn't want us to sit all day here and be sad about his death. He did this only for us …"_ said Romani to Cremia.  
><em>"Y-Yes, Romani. M-Maybe you are right … I am thankful for his help. I am so thankful for everything. Let's show him that his sacrifice was not in vain!"<em> replied Cremia.  
>Link and the Bombers gathered some firewood together and made a campfire for cooking and warmth.<p>

Every one of our heroes sat together at the campfire and they were cooking some of the food reserves … but also some of the bugs that were crawling around … because they had no other choice.  
><em>"Joseph … sorry for being rude to you before … I … I didn't want to do that …"<em> said Cremia and apologized for her angry response.  
><em>"Nah it's okay! I can understand your response very well …"<em> said Joseph with a smile.  
><em>"Guys, let's eat very quickly. Look up to the sky …"<em> said Nazran.

She was right … it was already dusk. The night was coming very fast … but our heroes at least made it out of the Woods of Mystery, so they didn't have to camp in that bug-populous woods.  
>The Magic Hag's Potion Shop was already in their sights.<p>

But what will our heroes see or experience in there?  
>Will the old witch in it help them?<br>And will Gorman's last gift save Termina from the raging Exigoz that are still flying around?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 36 \-\-\**

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><p><em>Thanks for reading and reviewing!<em>


	37. Silent Tears

_**Notes from the Author: **__Hello dear readers, it's me again! I am terrible sorry for not uploading in the last days but I was so busy and way too tired afterwards to write a proper chapter. But now I have finally holidays and I can write __**one (or maybe even two) chapter per day!**_

_I believe I will also write and upload a second chapter for today (Chapter 38: The Death Marshes – Part I) as a compensation for letting you wait for so long ;)  
>Silent Tears is also a quite calm chapter, so I think a second chapter would be good too for today.<em>

_But however, please comment, criticize and have a lot of fun!  
>Sincerely, KorneliusPrisma :)<em>

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><p><strong>\-\-\ Chapter 37: Silent Tears -/-/**

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><p><strong>Southern Swamp (next to the Potion-Shop) – Dusk:<strong>

"_Ugh … do we really have to …?"_ asked Anju her friends while sitting at the campfire.  
><em>"I don't want to either … but I guess we have no other choice unless we want to starve my dear wife …"<em> replied Kafei.  
><em>"This looks so disgusting in many ways … Romani has never thought that she'll have to do this in her life before …"<em> said Romani and looked in a disgusted expression.  
><em>"Well … let's try it out before we are too disgusted. As Kafei said … we have no other choice …"<em> replied Cremia.

Wait, what were our heroes actually talking about? Ah … right … how could I ever forget? All nine members of the Fellowship were sitting at the campfire together, next to the Potion-Shop and the waterfall. The sun already set and the sky was dark … this time neither the stars nor the moon could be seen because this night was a cloudy night. But what was so disgusting?  
>Well … our heroes had to eat something … and to save food reserves … our heroes decided to eat what Mother Nature gifted to them.<br>But unfortunately I am not talking about berries … I am talking about bugs … big, crawling, juicy and slimy bugs that crawled around to be exact.

Those bugs looked really disgusting indeed, but they had no other choice. Wasting food reserves just because they are disgusted was not very reasonable in this situation, so our heroes took some of the bugs, impaled them on a stick and roasted them in the campfire. After waiting for some minutes, our brave and fearless heroes tried their very special and tasty gourmet menu and were impressed that the bugs actually taste a lot better than they are looking like.

"_Fortunately there are plenty of those bugs. So we can fill our stomachs tonight, which is nice. Also we are next to a waterfall … and if we cook that water, we can drink it safely too"_ said Joseph. Luckily our Joseph played some survival-games before he accidentally went through the Cosmic Gate, so he knew how to survive … well … at least for a little bit. Knowledge was indeed power in such a tricky situation.  
>While the darkness of the night was devouring the last daylight of Termina, our heroes were looking deeply into the warming campfire and paused for a moment.<p>

While eating and drinking, everyone remained silent, because now it was the right time for it. On this special day, the Fellowship of the Romani-Ranch lost one of their heroes.  
>Gorman, who bravely defended the rest of the group against the hungry claws of the Skullfaced-Killer, gave his life for the life of the others.<br>Cremia and Romani were still not able to understand how a person can change himself so fast. Not long ago, the Gorman-Brothers were the biggest enemies of our two redheaded ranchers … but now … he gave his life to defend her and her lovely sister. He also tried to damage her … twice … a couple of days ago. But after Cremia slapped Gorman, maybe her slaps, the threatening from Romani and Link and the final words of Joseph, changed his mind forever. Maybe he really "thought twice before he ruined someone's life" this time … and now his action saved a life. I guess that is enough evidence to consider Gorman as a hero.

While the warming orange light kissed the skin on Cremia's and Romani's face, both finally used the time to face what happened in such a short period of time.  
>Cremia was kidnapped by a psychopathic and sadistic pirate-queen on Romani's birthday and got freed by her sister, whom she nearly lost because of Aveil before.<br>They escaped the pirate-fortress together with a new ally, named Nazran, while a new and even more dangerous enemy, named "the Exigoz", attacked the fortress and probably whole Termina.  
>They got nearly killed by Aveil and two drones on the wide, wide ocean but escaped to the coast of Great Bay just to see Clock-Town burning and everyone she knew dead.<br>Cremia, Romani, Link, Joseph and Nazran then sneaked to the Ranch and nearly lost their lives because of a big insectile creature that shot energy-projectiles out of its head.  
>They defeated the beast together but only faced a big pile of debris and squeezed cows afterwards.<br>After the last survivors joined the group and founded the Fellowship together with the ranch-sisters and their friends, they went through a dark forest towards a secret hideout of the Gorman, where a mysterious person, named Xenocturna, told them that they have to save Termina by awakening the four giants. That is quite a lot in such a small amount of time!

Joseph was thinking about the last days like Cremia and Romani … and he was surprised that a regular and ordinary student for electrical engineering, like he was, came to this world and faced a war-like scenario like this. Joseph compared the scenario with a stereotypical American Action-Movie because so much adventure and action in so less time. That was way too much … even for him. This world, named Termina, was quite peaceful before and now he is part of a heroic Fellowship that had to save Termina.  
>But his joking comparison was not really funny for him. Joseph knew how death looks like … and it is way different as in such Action-Movies or some of his ego-shooters.<br>Joseph was thinking for the first time about death in a different type of way. Walking on the edge of life and death all the time because crazy pirates, huge spiders or alien-like creatures are threatening him and his new friends all the time was too much for him. Death, destruction and sorrow in the, what he considered, "real life"? Joseph now finally understood how soldiers must have felt while fighting in the world wars.

Cremia, Romani and Joseph were not the only ones that were sunken deeply in their thoughts. Link and Nazran used the time to thank Gorman again … silently. The Hero of Time and the Gerudo are way more able to face the death than the rest. Even though Link was in the body of a twelve-years old boy, he was actually way older than that. Before he was the Hero of Time, he was sealed away for seven years and already had the body of a strong and brave nineteen years old man. And last but not least: He already saved Termina once by repeating the same three days for a couple of months by using his mighty Ocarina of Time. Our Link was in the body of a twelve-year old boy … but his mind and reasonability can already compete with Cremia, Joseph, Anju and Kafei.

Nazran is a Gerudo … and Gerudo are marauders and thieves … and also good fighters. Killing enemies of the Gerudo and stealing from them were nothing new for Nazran, who is actually quite kind-hearted.  
>But Nazran was different from other Gerudo. She was not a pure receiver of orders like most of her Gerudo-Comrades. In fact, she was questioning this quite brutal lifestyle. Can you imagine that? A person, who was raised by thieves and killers and lived the same lifestyle for years, began to question all of her comrades and her mighty and dangerous queen named Aveil. She was very courageous for even daring to question such a traditional lifestyle. But she knew that her questioning won't change much now. She was always the misfit of the Gerudo and she knew that but maybe … at some day … maybe her thoughts will change into words … her words into actions … and her actions into the destiny of the Gerudo.<p>

"_I guess we should go to sleep now. Let's enter the Potion shop tomorrow" _said Nazran while looking deeply in the fire. She was right, maybe the shop was closed and the witches, named Kotake and Koume, were also sleeping.  
>Maybe resting their hurting feet again and to recover to be fit for the day after was really the best option. Our heroes were sated by the juicy bugs and the cooked swamp-water now, so their stomachs needed a pause too.<br>Suddenly Romani stood up and walked around the fire pit … and sat down next to Link and Joseph.

"_Grasshopper? Blueberry? Do you mind if we play Dancing Rancher again before we go to sleep? Romani is sad and needs some company …"_ asked Romani. She was sad indeed … and fortunately she always took her cards with her since they started from Clock-Town. Playing some rounds of her own Card-Game would take her mind off things … and that was exactly what she needed.  
><em>"Do you mind if Cremia joins too? Cremia is sad too and need some company as well …"<em> asked Cremia in third person. While she asked, she smiled at her sister. Her sister had a very good idea and our four original heroes used the time to have some fun in the darkest hours of Termina. Weeping all day and night because of the catastrophe that haunted Termina wouldn't help them much … and maybe some fun will give them new energy too.

So Cremia, Joseph, Link and Romani were playing "Dancing Rancher" again next to the fire pit while Anju, Kafei, Nazran and the Bombers went to sleep. Maybe it is also a good idea to have someone awake to watch out for possible threats.  
>One hour passed and several rounds were played. Playing Romani's card game together was really cheering them up … and to see Romani, Cremia, Link and Joseph smiling and laughing was very rare in those bitter days.<br>_"Romani miss it to play Dancing Rancher in the Kitchen. Romani loves it so much to play together with Blueberry, Grasshopper and Sister"_ said Romani.  
><em>"I miss the ranch too, Romani. To milk the cows, to collect the eggs, to make Chateau and to sell it afterwards was always hard work … but now I am missing it so much …"<em> said Cremia.

After Cremia said that, Joseph put his hand on her shoulder and said:  
><em>"We will rebuild the ranch together after we defeated the Exigoz, I promise! We will kick their asses and show them who's the boss"<em>  
><em>"Thank you Joseph. I am so glad I met you and Link. Termina now really needs some heroes"<em> replied Cremia. After she said that she looked at Joseph's hand on her shoulder … and she moved it away.  
>Strange … didn't Cremia like his attempt for good words? Even though she smiled at him, she didn't seem to like his hand on her shoulder.<br>Link did the same. He put a hand on Romani's shoulder and said:  
><em>"The new ranch house will be even more beautiful than the old one, we promise, Romani!"<em>  
>After he said that, Romani gave Link a lovely hug.<br>_"Thank you Grasshopper! We will win for sure!" _answered Romani

Will our heroes be really successful and make it so far that they can rebuild Termina together?  
>What's up with Cremia? Will our heroes be able to face the Appetite for Destruction caused by the Exigoz?<br>And what will the witch tell them in the Potion Shop?

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><p><strong>-/-/ End of Chapter 37 \-\-\**

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><p><em>Thanks for reading and reviewing!<em>


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